Oct 2: Hyderabad: Report of protest against torture and fake encounter killings in Warangal
A report by Bittu
Massive repression marked the march, organized by 372 organizations together towards Assembly from Sunderaiyyah Vignana Kendram at 10 am against the torture and fake encounter killing of two Maoist cadre in Warangal. One of them, a woman comrade, also showed signs of having been subjected to sexual violence. Varalakshmi, Secretary of Revolutionary Writers Association was placed under house arrest the afternoon before the march. Students of Telangana Vidyarthi Sangathan and Democratic Students Union who were campaigning for the Chalo Assembly March in Osmania University the night before the March were arrested at night. Several people were placed under house arrest on the morning of the march.
Thousands of people were picked up at train and bus stations on the way to Hyderabad, mostly even before they made it to the district train/bus station. The site of the dharna was cordoned off with barricades and all groups of people approaching it were arrested; there was also a brutal lathi charge and protesters were also thrashed in police vans. Only 4 people were exempt from detention: Prof. Haragopal, who was told by police that they had strict instructions not to detain him – even though he courted arrest; Kodand Ram and two other prominent Telangana statehood figures were informally policed but not formally arrested. This was a clever attempt by the KCR government to salvage its image given that everyone involved with the Telangana statehood movement had denounced the fake encounter and torture. In total, Civil Liberties Committee estimated 15,000 people were arrested across the state.
We were detained all day and released late in the evening. One person Com. Mahesh was picked up again after being released, and taken for a 3 hour ride around the city in the way people are often driven elsewhere before being killed in a fake encounter, while being intimidated all the way. Several individuals were targetted and incarcerated separately. While CPI, CPM and several other organizations’ members were all arrested in this massive dharna, there was a clear difference between how their cadre were treated and those from the radical left. There was a lot of media coverage and along with the farmer suicide issue burning up Telangana, the KCR government’s credibility in bringing ‘Bangara Telangana’ – Golden Telangana – was severely damaged.
Via Sanhati
Mass Repression in Telangana
On september 30 any forum sympathetic to the C.P.I.(Maoist) is supressed brutally .This is unconstitutional and undemocratic as any person in ademocarcy has a right to express his ideological belief.We need to form organizations of forums defending the people’s right to struggle not affiliated to any political group.Dark days of emergency are appearing in another form as well as ears of encounters like in the previous decades.Inspite of facing such severe repression the C.P.I.(Maoist) is fighting back heroically through forums like Virasam.
The response to the rally from Telengana resembled a bonfire lit all or a tornado appearing.over.Today revolutionary democratic organizations are forced to work from underground like the Andhra Pradesh Radical Students Union in the time of emergency or also in the late 1990’s,The tentacles of the state will not defeat the of the broad masses whose revolutionary spirit will will be resurected even futher after this massive supression. A march by Telangana Democratic Front (TDF) members to the assembly here to protest killing of two Maoists by the police was foiled on Wednesday as many leaders in Hyderabad and other districts were arrested. Leaders and workers of various organisations were detained in different districts to prevent them from heading for Hyderabad to participate in the march. Eminent academician Chuka Ramaiah was kept under house arrest in Hyderabad. He said arrests will not stop the movement.
Well-known revolutionary writer Varavara Rao was taken into custody at RTC Cross Roads when he along with his supporters were proceeding towards the assembly building. Leaders of CPI, CPI-M and other Left parties and people’s organisations were arrested at Bagh Lingampally, from where the TDF planned to march to the assembly. Those arrested include TDF president Chada Venkat Reddy, professor P.L. Visweswara, professor Vinod Kumar and CPI-M state secretary T. Veerabhadram.
The assembly building in the heart of the city virtually turned into a fortress as police imposed restrictions on all roads leading towards the assembly. A large number of policemen were deployed in the area to prevent protesters. Tension prevailed at Telangana martyrs’ memorial at Gun Park in front of the assembly building when a youth tried to immolate self. Alert policemen prevented him from doing so and arrested him. Tension prevailed at Osmania University as students gathered on the campus to march in violation of the prohibitory orders imposed by police. Policemen in riot gear were deployed at the gates to prevent students from coming out. PDSU activists took out a rally from girls’ hostel but were stopped at NCC Gate by the police. A heated argument ensued between student leaders and the police officers. The protesters were arrested. Police also arrested two more groups of students including one at the library.
Student leaders took strong exception to police entering the hostels and library. Scores of students and their leaders were arrested at Osmania University and Nizam College hostels since Tuesday night. Police denied permission to the march on the ground that Maoists may participate in it and indulge in violence. Those arrested in districts like Warangal, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Medak and Nalgonda include women and students. Raising slogan against the government and calling for an end to “fake encounters”, the protesters took out rallies in different parts of the state. Veerabhadram said 3,000 to 4,000 activists were arrested across the state.
He termed the arrests as undemocratic. Maoists Shruthi and Vidyasagar were killed near Medaram of Warangal district on September 16. It was the first such killing after the formation of separate Telangana state last year. Terming it as a “fake encounter”, 370 organisations, including 10 left parties and the groups which fought for separate Telangana state, have come together under the banner of TDF to condemn the killings. It is demanding probe by a sitting judge. While denying permission for ‘chalo assembly’, police said it was reliably learnt that TDF was formed at the instance of CPI-
Telangana: Hundreds arrested for protesting Maoists’ killings
Hundreds of activists from Left parties and other mass organisations across Telangana were arrested on Wednesday to halt their march to the state assembly to protest killing of two Maoists by police. Leaders and workers of various organisations were detained in different districts to prevent them from heading to Hyderabad for participating in the march called by the Telangana Democratic Front (TDF). Academician Chuka Ramaiah was kept under house arrest in Hyderabad but he said arrests will not stop the movement.
The assembly building in the heart of the city virtually turned into a fortress as police imposed restrictions on all roads leading towards the assembly. A large number of policemen were deployed in the area to prevent protesters. Tension prevailed at Osmania University as students gathered on the campus to march in violation of the prohibitory orders imposed by police. Policemen in riot gear were deployed at the gates to prevent students from coming out. Scores of students and their leaders were arrested at Osmania University and Nizam College hostels since Tuesday night. Police denied permission to the march on the ground that Maoists may participate in it and indulge in violence.
Those arrested in districts like Warangal, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Medak and Nalgonda include women and students. Raising slogan against the government and calling for an end to “fake encounters”, the protesters took out rallies in different parts of the state. Communist Party of India-Marxist Telangana state secretary T. Veerabhadram said 3,000 to 4,000 activists were arrested across the state. He termed the arrests as undemocratic. Maoists Shruthi and Vidyasagar were killed near Medaram of Warangal district on September 16. It was the first such killing after the formation of separate Telangana state last year. Terming it as a “fake encounter”, 370 organisations, including 10 left parties and the groups which fought for separate Telangana state, have come together under the banner of TDF to condemn the killings. It is demanding probe by a sitting judge. and the programme was being organised in support of its cause and the ideology.
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