Uttam meets arrested OU students at Chanchalguda Jail

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has accused the TRS Government of implicating Osmania University students and leaders in false cases after they protested against the suicide of OU student Murali Mudiraj.

Accompanied with senior leaders including legislators T. Jeevan Reddy, Geetha Reddy, Rammohan Reddy, Akula Lalitha and Santosh Kumar, Youth Congress president Anil Kumar Yadav, TPCC Legal Cell chairman Damodar Reddy and others, Uttam Kumar Reddy met the students' leaders Pratap Reddy, Addanki Dayakar, Manavta Rai, Ellanna, Durgam Bhaskar and 22 others at Chanchalguda Jail on Tuesday.

Speaking to media persons later, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that nearly 40 students and their leaders were kept into illegal custody and then implicated in false cases by TRS Government when they protested against the suicide of Murali Mudiraj. He said, in open violation of human rights, the student leaders were directly sent to jail without producing them before a magistrate. Announcing that the Congress party would approach the High Court and Supreme Court against these illegal cases and arrests, he condemned Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao for his dictatorial behaviour.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said Murali Mudiraj, a BC student, committed suicide as he was disappointed over delay in getting a job. He said it was TRS Government's failure to provide jobs to unemployed youth which forced Murali to end his life. "Murali's suicide reflects the level of disappointment prevailing among students and jobless youth. But KCR has turned so arrogant that he did not even express his condolences over Murali's suicide.

Instead, he unleashed terror on students and other leaders and turned Osmania University into a war zone. Situation has turned so worse that the suicide note was allegedly fabricated to hush up the matter. KCR and TRS leaders should be ashamed of themselves as they have booked students in serious offencs like Attempt to Murder. Over 30 students have been put in jail at a time when OU exams are going on," he said.

The TPCC chief demanded a judicial probe into the suicide of Murali Mudiraj.

"We never expected that we will witness such things every day after formation of Telangana. The new State was not created only for the benefit of KCR family. He is ruthlessly suppressing all kinds of protest by opposition parties, NGOs, students, JAC and others and implicating all his opponents in false cases.

Dalits were tortured and booked in false cases in Nerella while Tribal farmers in Khammam were chained and handcuffed after their arrest in a false case," he said. Citing another example, he said Pratap Reddy, who had contested against KCR from Gajwel in 2014 elections, had come to Osmania University on hearing the news of suicide of Murali Mudiraj as he hailed from same Dowlapur village of Jagdevpur mandal. But Pratap Reddy was brutally beaten up by the police and implicated in a false case.

Uttam Kumar Reddy Reddy said that the TRS Government has failed to even fill vacancies that existed in erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. Stating that students of Osmania University have played a major role in formation of Telangana State, he warned KCR Government against suppressing the voice of students and jobless youth.

The TPCC chief also urged the mainstream media to do a serious introspection on their approach towards the issue. He alleged that the TRS Government has been pressuring the media to suppress and hush up the incident of Murali's suicide and students' protest. He requested the media organisations to show the truth without any fear or favour.