The Hindu : Front Page : TRS president arrested amid high drama

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Monday, Nov 30, 2009
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TRS president arrested amid high drama

Trouble breaks out at several places in Telangana

–Photo: M. Murali

Plans foiled: Police intercepting the vehicle of TRS president K.Chandrashekhar Rao and arresting him at Alugunur crossroads on the outskirts of Karimnagar town on Sunday.

HYDERABAD: Tension gripped several places in Telangana region on Sunday as activists of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) staged protests and stoned buses in the wake of the arrest of their party president K. Chandrasekhar Rao ahead of his proposed indefinite hunger strike in Siddipet.

Mr. Rao was taken into custody on the outskirts of Karimnagar after police gave an impression that they would not obstruct his journey to Siddipet. Amid much drama and numerous demonstrations en route, KCR was whisked away to Khammam town where a magistrate remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days in connection with cases registered against him earlier. Two other senior party leaders, G. Vijayarama Rao and Nayani Narsimha Reddy, who were accompanying him, were also remanded in custody. Mr. Rao refused to seek bail.

Refuses food

The TRS leader, according to two advocates who met him in Danvaigudem jail on the outskirts of Khammam, said Mr. Rao refused to eat anything and appeared weak. Later, a team of doctors conducted a medical check-up on the arrested leaders and said the vital parameters of KCR were normal.

As news of his arrest spread, pitched battles were fought between students and police on Osmania University campus here resulting in injuries to several youth. Tension prevailed throughout the day in the campus following rumours about the death of a student in the lathi-charge but it was promptly denied by City Police Commissioner Prasada Rao.

Srikanth, a physio-therapy student, sustained serious burns when he set himself afire at L.B. Nagar here. Elsewhere in the region, hundreds of activists were arrested after they attacked buses and private vehicles at several places.

In Siddipet, a strong police force descended on Rangathampalli, venue of KCR’s proposed fast, and arrested all the important leaders who wanted to begin a hunger strike and dispersed the party supporters. Local TRS MLA T. Harish Rao doused himself with petrol, but the police managed to break the large human cordon and arrested him. KCR’s son, K. T. Rama Rao, was arrested in Warangal.

While almost all the major Opposition parties, condemned KCR’s arrest, Chief Minister K. Rosaiah justified the police action on the ground that the TRS leader had been making provocative speeches during his recent tour of Telangana which were likely to endanger peace and tranquility. Moreover, the Government could not remain a silent spectator when he was repeatedly threatening to end his life, he aded.

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