Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu asked University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor BJ Rao to take adequate measures to maintain the security of the students, faculty and public property on campus and to ensure that academic functioning proceeds smoothly and peacefully.

Following the request from the civil society organisations to withdraw police forces from the campus at a meeting held here on Monday, the Deputy Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Vice-Chancellor on the maintenance of law and order in the university. He sought the V-C’s assurance on the smooth functioning of the academic classes without unrest by the students. The student community had staged a dharna against the cutting of trees in 400 acres of government land near the university recently.

“I re-affirm the Government of Telangana’s deep and unwavering commitment to the autonomy of academic institutions and to ensuring that our universities remain safe, inclusive, and conducive spaces for learning and research.

It is to inform that on the written request of the Registrar of the University, an adequate police deployment was made available on campus to maintain law and order and protect the safety and security of the student and faculty communities. Now, the government proposed to withdraw general police presence in the vicinity of the main university campus, effective immediately, with the sole exception of the 400-acre Kancha Gachibowli land in consonance with the order of the Supreme Court wherein no activity other than protection of trees is to be permitted with the 400 acres of Kancha Gachibowli land,” Bhatti explained in the letter.