Telangana protests intensify: TRS MLA, others detained

Telangana Rashtra Samithi Member of Legislative Assembly K T Rama Rao and other leaders and activists of different pro-Telangana organisations were on Sunday taken in custody when they attempted to participate in the Samara Deeksha protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad.
 
The Hyderabad Police has already denied the Telangana Joint Action permission to organise a 36-hour Samara Deeksha at Indira Park over its demand for a separate state
 
Despite the denial of permission, Rama Rao, the MLA from Sircilla, and others tried to march towards the protest venue. They were stopped by the police and taken into custody.
 
Telangana MLAs gathered in front of the Gandhi statue in Andhra Pradesh Assembly premises and held a dharna, condemning the police for denying them permission to hold protests.
 
Tension prevailed at the Osmania University campus when a group of pro-Telangana students pelted stones at policemen when they were prevented from

taking out a rally in support of the protest.
 
Police have made elaborate security arrangements at various places in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh as a precautionary measure. Policemen have barricaded the routes toward Indira Park and diverted traffic at different places.
 
T-JAC chairman M Kodandaram had on Saturday urged the people of the region to converge in large numbers at the protest venue.
 
Telangana activists are seeking to step up pressure on the Centre through Samara Deeksha to press for a decision in favour of Telangana state.
 
The police had denied permission to T-JAC to hold the protest as they considered the possibility of anti-social elements creating a law and order problem.
 
The police had said they had specific intelligence inputs that the protesters may resort to violence, as had happened earlier during the Million March and Telangana March on Necklace Road in Hyderabad.