Telangana students ransack exam centre at Osmania Hyderabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Students protesting the conduct of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam ransacked an exam centre at the Osmania University campus here Sunday, leaving three injured. Tension prevailed at the B.Ed college as protesters broke the security cordon and barged into the exam centre. Some students writing the test came out with question papers and answer sheets and tore and dumped them on the roads, police said. The students were injured in a scuffle with police, which used batons against the protesters and arrested many of them, a police official said. Although the police made elaborate security arrangements in view of the boycott call given by the Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) and other pro-Telangana groups, the protesters outnumbered them. Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and OUJAC uprooted the security barricades and broke into the college. The police failed to prevent them. Four MPs of the ruling Congress party and leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) also joined the protesting students. Despite the boycott and Telangana shutdown called by student groups and pro-Telangana parties and leaders, the APPSC went ahead with the the Group I Prelim exam amid tight security. Police deployment was marked at 445 centres where the exam began at 10.30 a.m. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from different parts of Telangana as the shutdown evoked partial response. The strike affected services of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corp (APSRTC) in Karimnagar and Warangal districts. The impact was partial in the remaining eight districts including Hyderabad. Legislators and leaders of the TRS and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were taken into custody in different parts of Telangana. The pro-Telangana groups were demanding that the exam be postponed till the share of the region in the Group I postings is made clear. They were demanding 42 percent share for the region. More than 1.6 lakh candidates are writing the exam for recruitment to 198 posts. Sporadic violence marks exam in Telangana Hyderabad, Sep 5 (IANS) Sporadic incidents of violence marked the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam in Telangana Sunday with pro-Telangana students either boycotting the test or staging protests at the exam centres against "injustice" to the region. Students protesting the conduct of the test ransacked an exam centre at the Osmania University campus here, leaving three injured. Tension prevailed at the B.Ed college as protesters broke the security cordon and barged into the exam centre. Some students came out with question papers and answer sheets and tore them up, police said. The three students were injured in a scuffle with police, who used batons and tear gas against the protesters and arrested 60 of them, an official said. Although the police made elaborate security arrangements in view of the boycott call given by the Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) and other pro-Telangana groups, the protesters outnumbered them. Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and OUJAC uprooted the security barricades and broke into the college. The police failed to prevent them. Four MPs of ruling Congress party and leaders and activists of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) were arrested when they reached the campus in a show of solidarity with protesters. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mahesh Chandra Laddha denied that protesters barged into the centre and claimed that some students from inside the centre came out with papers. He said the exam was held without any further trouble. "Some protesters threw stones. The police had to retaliate," he said. The protesters later stoned two shopping malls and buses near the university. Students questioned the decision of APPSC to continue holding the exam when the paper was leaked. APPSC chairman Venkatram Reddy said they would probe the allegations. Despite the boycott and Telangana shutdown called by student groups and pro-Telangana parties and leaders, the APPSC went ahead with the Group I Prelim exam amid tight security. Police deployment was marked at 445 centres where the exam was held from 10.30 a.m to 1.30 p. m. More than 1.6 lakh candidates were to write the exam for recruitment to 198 posts but only 50 percent appeared. Only 35 percent candidates turned up in Telangana. At some centres in the region the students came out soon after the exam began saying they would write only in a separate Telangana state. The pro-Telangana groups were demanding that the exam be postponed till the share of the region in the Group I postings was made clear. They were demanding 42 percent share for the region. Violence was reported from different parts of Telangana as the shutdown evoked partial response. Congress MP Ponnam Prabhakar sustained minor injuries when police tried to prevent him and his supporters from entering an exam centre in Karimnagar. Legislators and leaders of the TRS and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were taken into custody in different parts of Telangana. TRS legislator Harish Rao was arrested when he tried to barge into an exam centre in Sangareddy in Medak district. The strike affected services of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corp (APSRTC) in Karimnagar and Warangal districts. The impact was partial in the remaining eight districts, including Hyderabad. 1,720 people taken into preventive custody in Telangana Hyderabad, Sep 5 (PTI) As many as 1,720 people, including leaders and workers of various political parties, were today taken into preventive custody when they held protests and observed bandh in Telangana region demanding postponement of preliminary recruitment test for Group-I service officers. Police also registered 110 cases against the protesters, including the pro-Telangana activists, who defied prohibitory orders imposed around the exam centres following the shutdown call given by the Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) and TRS, State Director General of Police K Aravinda Rao said. Pro-Telangana activists who indulged in violence at the Osmania University (OU) campus barged into the exam centre and allegedly snatched answer-sheets and question papers from candidates and burnt them even as police intervened and took them into preventive custody. Woman airline employee dies of 'shock' in freak incident Hyderabad, Sep 5 (PTI) A woman employee of Air Asia airline today died allegedly due to shock after her hand got stuck in an aerobridge, which was being retracted after boarding of passengers in a flight at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here. The incident occurred when Amritha Roy (24), a Guest Services Officer of Air Asia, was about to return. Her right arm got trapped in one of the aerobridges which was being retracted from the Hyderabad-Kuala Lumpur flight that departed at 09:50 AM, airport officials said. Roy, a native of Kolkata, immediately collapsed out of shock and was rushed to Apollo Medical Centre at the airport for emergency medical attention where she succumbed at 10:40 AM, according to a RGIA spokesperson. The RGIA Police have registered a case of accidental death in this connection. |
