Hyderabad: A journalist working in a prominent online news media organisation, who was covering the protest by students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) against JCBs clearing part of the UoH’s east campus on Sunday, March 30, was detained by the Cyberabad police.
South First journalist Sumit Jha was taken into custody along with student protesters while filming their confrontation with the police. In video messages sent from inside a police van, he said an officer seized his phone and detained him, even though he identified himself as a journalist and showed his Press ID.
After being driven around the university in a police van for some time, Jha was taken to Kollur police station. His phone was later returned, and he has now been released.
University of Hyderabad students held as JCBs begin clearing campus forest
Chaos erupted on Sunday after several students from the University of Hyderabad were detained by the Cyberabad police for protesting against the Telangana government’s plan to sell 400 acres of prime land, which includes biodiversity and the Mushroom Rocks, which is believed to be about two billion years old.
In disturbing visuals from inside the University of Hyderabad campus, police officials and other security personnel dressed in army clothing can be seen mercilessly dragging students into buses amid protests against the JCBs clearing the eastern area of the UoH campus. The protests began after the JCBs came to the campus around 2 p.m.
The protesting students from the campus, who have been against their campus land being sold by the state government, said that cops roughed them up while detaining them. Some of the students had their clothes torn, while others received minor injuries in scuffles that ensued.
Without naming BRS, Revanth Reddy had recently in the Assembly alleged that university students are provoked and PILs are filed in courts indirectly in the issue of the planned development of a land parcel. Observing that the land is located at the Financial District in the city’s IT hub, he said the government endeavours to promote investments, IT parks and generate employment on a large scale.
However, the University of Hyderabad administration is keeping mum on the issue.
