Osmania University students join rally after brief battle with cops

HYDERABAD: Around 200 students of Osmania University sneaked out of the campus on buses and bikes to be part of a Telangana rally at the Nizam college grounds on Sunday after a pitched battle with the police.
For the first time, a political rally was allowed outside OU after November 2009. The rally saw the students marching peacefully and shouting slogans.Though classes are not in session in the university, around 200 students gathered at Arts College around 10am after all the wings of OU Telangana Students Joint Action Committee (OUTSJAC) pledged support to the public meeting. Students were seen holding posters with photographs of students who had committed suicide for the ‘T’ cause, and some waved branches of trees to mark a peaceful exit.
OU students had conducted meetings in different campuses in the city to mobilize students for the meeting earlier. "Our efforts paid off as students from several corporate colleges came forward to participate in the meet," Thirumani Kondal, a student leader said. OUTSJAC leaders were already stationed outside before the rally fearing police action.
Tension prevailed on campus when a group of 50 students were not allowed to go out by the police. The students, who belonged to a small wing of the OUTSJAC, were asked to go back and permission to take out a rally was flatly refused, witnesses said.
With police stopping them at the NCC gate around 11am, the angry students started hurling stones. However, things became normal after 1pm and as more students arrived, police relented.
Students had been holding talks with Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) leaders over the past week, helping them mobilize crowds. Among those who participated in the OU rally were those affiliated to Telangana Rashtra Samithi Vidyarthi Vibhag (TRSVV), Students Federation of India (SFI) and Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU).