University of Hyderabad students' protest: Nearly 50 detained, girls ‘forcibly taken away’ over land auction |10 updates

Around 50 students from the University of Hyderabad were detained by Cyberabad police after staging a protest on the East campus, on Sunday, March 30.

The protest was against the clearing of land, part of the 400 acres of Kancha Gachibowli, which the Telangana government plans to auction for the development of multi-infrastructure and IT parks. The plot of land also borders the University of Hyderabad.

The clashes at the varsity campus has spurred a massive political row with the opposition BRS accusing the police of dragging the protesting students by their hair and thrashing them, stated multiple reports.

Here are the top 10 updates:

1. The protesting students were taken into preventive custody for “causing a lot of nuisance and obstructing TGIIC authorities from carrying on the work," Cyberabad police commissioner Avinash Mohanty told The Indian Express. The commissioner also claimed that some students had assaulted police officers.
2. Reportedly, scores of students stormed into the grounds after they spotted bulldozers approaching the land. They climbed atop the heavy demolition machines while raising 'go back' slogans. Some students were also seen raising ‘police raj murdabad’ slogans.
3. The opposition party in claimed that girls were ‘forcibly taken away’, and a total of 200 people have been arrested because of the protests.
4. One female student claimed that girls were “forcibly taken away" by the police when they tried to ask why the “bulldozers" had been brought in, stated multiple reports. The videos of the clashes have now gone viral on social media:

5. “Girls were crying that their clothes were torn, but they ignored them and took them to the police station. About 200 people were arrested,” Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Chandrashekhar Rao told reporters.

6. On Sunday, 28 students were released from Madhapur Police Station after the BRS leaders staged a protest demanding immediate release of all detainees, reported Telangana Today.

7. Condemning the police action, the Hyderabad University students' union asserted that they had only organised a peaceful rally in the area. They emphasised that students have a democratic right to protest and accused the police of forceful detentions and "manhandling" the students.

8. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had earlier rejected the students' claims, alleging that they were being instigated. He stated that the 400 acre land parcel falls within the city’s IT hub and has no connection to the university.

9. According to NDTV, a university official also added that the land's ownership has been with the government since 1974.

10. University of Hyderabad's student body has been demanding that the Telangana government halt the land auction process, set up a review committee to study the biodiversity and ecological significance of the land, and also grant legal rights to UoH over the campus land, reported The News Minute.