Hyderabad: The bandh observed in districts
of Telangana region to protest the firing on those supporting
the separate statehood issue in Mahbubabad town passed off
peacefully today, barring stray incidents of damage to public
and private properties, police said.
Apart from resorting to road blockades and burning buses,
pro-Telangana activists held dharnas, took out rallies and
burnt effigies of Congress MP Jaganmohan Reddy, Parkal MLA
Konda Surekha and her MLC husband K Murali at Osmania
University campus and in Nizamabad district, they said.
Holding the Kadapa MP responsible for yesterday`s
violence at Mahbubabad railway station in Warangal district in
which nine pro-Telangana activists suffered injuries after
gunmen of Congress legislators allegedly fired on them, the
Telangana Joint Action Committee had given a bandh call in the
region today.
Elsewhere in Rayalaseema region, denouncing the
preventive arrest of Jaganmohan, his followers and Congress
workers also observed bandh in Anantapur and Chittoor
district, though it hardly had any impact on normal life.
Strongly condemning the Mahbubabad incident,
pro-Telangana agitators enforced bandh in Warangal, Medak,
Mahbubnagar, Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts even
as police took 897 persons into preventive custody and also
arrested five persons after registering 17 cases under various
IPC sections, police said.
The Telangana statehood supporters hurled stones at the
residence of Nirmal MLA A Maheshwar Reddy, (who belongs to
Praja Rajyam party) in Adilabad district.
Three buses of a private school were burnt in Warangal
district by pro-Telangana activists, who also set fire to one
RTC bus at Kukatpally and torched two private buses at
Dundigal area in Hyderabad besides damaging seven RTC buses in
Adilabad, Khammam, Warangal and Yadagirigutta, police said.
A report from Medak district said the bandh was
successful and peaceful with shops, business establishments
and petrol bunks remaining closed. The protesters held
`rasta-rokos` at Siddipet, Medak, Sadasivpet, Narayankhed,
other towns.
TRS and BJP workers blocked the NH-9 (Hyderabad-Mumbai)
near Sangareddy for over 30 minutes, resulting in heavy
traffic jam on the route. Police took TRS leader Harish Rao
into preventive custody at Siddipet while he and others held a
dharna.
The bandh in Warangal district was total and peaceful,
according to a report. Banks, shops, petrol bunks, vegetable
markets remained closed and Andhra Pradesh State Transport
Corporation (APSRTC) suspended services in all eight depots in
the district.
Condemning the Mahbubabad violence, members of TRS, BJP,
T-JAC held demonstrations at Hanamkonda for over two hours and
raised anti-Jaganmohan slogans.
Pro-Telangana protesters also burnt copies of `Sakshi` (a
Telugu daily owned by Jaganmohan) at Hanamkonda besides
squatting on rail tracks at Kazipet, Warangal railway
stations, police said.
Kakatiya University JAC members staged a demonstration in
front of the District Congress office in Warangal town.
A report from Karimnagar district said the bandh was
total and peaceful with commercial establishments, educational
institutions and petrol bunks remaining closed.
Pro-Telangana activists stopped Bodhan-Nizamabad
passenger train, pelted stones on RTC buses, and on a Andhra
Bank branch, Nizamabad District Superintendent of Police K
Venkateshwara Rao told agency over phone. "The bandh evoked
partial response in Nizamabad district," he said.
Telangana activists took out motorbike rallies in
Warangal, Karimnagar and other Telangana districts shouting
anti-Jagan slogans.
At several places across Telangana districts passengers
were stranded at bus-stands after Andhra Pradesh State
Transport Corporation (APSRTC) suspended services following
the protests. The bandh, however, evoked lukewarm response in
Hyderabad city.
As many as 255 people were taken into preventive custody
in Hyderabad city, 52 in Warangal district, 57 in Nalgonda,
165 in Medak, 19 in Mahbubnagar, 40 in Nizamabad, 42 in
Khammam, 52 in Karimnagar and 22 in Adilabad district besides
163 persons under the limits of Cyberabad Police
Commissionerate.
The TRS Osmania University JAC, Kakatiya University JAC
and BJP also supported the bandh.
After pro-Telangana activists resorted to attacking shops
in Tarnaka area here, the Osmania University authorities
postponed exams of MBA (IV semester) Paper-I and BCA
second-year (II semester) which were scheduled for today.
Protesting the Mahbubabad violence, the OU-JAC activists
burnt effigies of the Kadapa MP and Congress MLA K Surekha at
the OU varsity campus, officials said.
Meanwhile, sporadic incidents were reported in protest
against the stoppage of the yatra and the preventive arrest of
Congress MP Jaganmohan Reddy in some parts of Rayalaseema
region.
There were two incidents under Porumamilla Police station
limits of Kadapa district where two cases were registered
against agitators who tried to enforce bandh.
Similarly, three specific cases of unlawful assembly and
damages to property were registered in Tirupati East Police
station against the agitators, a release from the office of
Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police said.
Meanwhile, three bogeys of a passenger train caught fire
at the Rajahmundry Railway station in the wee hours today
under mysterious circumstances, police said.
Efforts are on to ascertain whether this was an accident
or the handiwork of some miscreants, they said.
Meanwhile, three bogeys of a passenger train caught fire
at the Rajahmundry Railway station in the wee hours today in
mysterious circumstances, police said.
Efforts are on to ascertain whether this was an accident
or the handiwork of some miscreants, they said.
PTI
