 |
|
|
Three unidentified gunmen, suspected to be members of the banned
Radical Students' Union (RSU), shot dead M. Chandra Reddy, an ABVP
leader, in his room in Hostel-E on the Osmania University campus on
Tuesday morning. A stringer of a Telugu daily, Raghunandan, who was
with Reddy at the time of attack, sustained a bullet injury on his
right arm. His condition is stable.
Tension escalated on the campus and the surrounding areas following
the murder and a group of ABVP activists went berserk attacking
city buses and some hostellers. As the students went on a rampage,
the authorities cordoned off the OU campus and diverted vehicular
traffic via other routes. According to eyewitnesses, two persons
went to the hostel room of Chandra Reddy, a research scholar. The
assailants knocked on the door and called out. As the door opened,
they fired a shot, but Chandra Reddy ducked and saved himself The
bullet ricochetted off the wall and hit Mr. Raghunandan.
Chandra Reddy, eyewitnesses said, grabbed a steel folding chair and
tried to attack the gun-wielding youth. But two more shots were
fired and one of them hit him on the back. Police officers said
the bullet was fired from close range. Chandra Reddy ran for over
50 yards before collapsing. In the melee that ensued, the
assailants fled the scene.
As news about the incident spread, groups of ABVP activists
targeted the rooms in which some workers of PDSU were staying. A
small contingent of police led by the East Zone DCP, Mr. M.
Mahendar Reddy, made a vain attempt to chase the agitated students,
but the hostellers had already thrashed three students and damaged
the windowpanes of many rooms. Policemen had only succeeded in
snatching the iron rods from the hands of students.
In the meantime, another group of students rushed to the Ladies
Hostel and staged a demonstration there alleging that a PDSU
supporter residing in the hostel was sheltering the assailants.
However, the demonstration was called off some time later. With
the ABVP activists staging a "rasta roko" and the OU campus being
cordoned off, a tense atmosphere prevailed in four schools situated
on and around the campus.
The Home Minister, Mr. A. Madhava Reddy, who visited Gandhi
Hospital mortuary where Chandra Reddy's body was shifted, condemned
the attack. Addressing an impromptu press conference there. he
said the Government would act firmly to contain the naxalite
problem. "We will revise the policy on naxalites, if need be,
after discussing with all political parties." He felt the Assembly
should take up a detailed discussion on the issue. He was highly
critical of leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee
(APCLC) for keeping silent on the murder by PWG supporters.
There were some unpleasant moments for the police at the mortuary,
when the ABVP activists entered into heated arguments with the
Commissioner of Police. Mr. C. Rama Swamy. They demanded the
suspension of Mr. G. Sampath Kumar Reddy, Inspector of Osmania
University police station. alleging that he was harassing them.
Meanwhile, the ABVP has called for a State bandh on Thursday to
protest against the killing. Announcing this at a press conference,
ABVP South Zone organising secretary, Mr. J. Gowrishankar and State
joint organising secretary, M. P. Suryanarayana, urged the Centre
to treat the naxal problem as an insurgency activity and deploy the
Army to tackle it on a war-footing. They appealed to all political
parties to support the State bandh on Thursday.
The body of Chandra Reddy was taken in procession from Gandhi
Hospital to the Osmania University campus and later brought to the
city office of the ABVP in Vidyanagar.
Killing figures in Assembly
The Home Minister called upon opposition parties to suggest a
concerted plan to check naxal violence. Referring to the slaying
of the ABVP leader in the Assembly Mr. Madhava Reddy said this was
part of chain of killings by extremists in the past few days.
|
|
|