Telangana Chief Minister’s camp office turns into fortress

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s camp office at Pragati Bhavan in Hyderabad city has turned into a fortress. Police, along with additional armed companies, have been deployed to protect the office. The move comes in the wake of the call given by the Congress to lay siege to Pragati Bhavan, the Telangana Chief Minister’s camp office in Hyderabad. Police arrested senior leaders V. Hanumantha Rao, Anjan Kumar Yadav, D. Sridhar Babu and several other leaders from different parts of the city. Senior Congress leaders in different parts of the city were placed under house arrest.

Meanwhile, all the highways connecting to Hyderabad from different parts of Telangana have been barricaded, and a large police force deployed to prevent protestors from entering the city. Due to the ongoing Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) strike, a limited number of RTC buses are plying from the districts to the city. So, police have shifted their focus on private vehicles entering the city from different entry points.

Pragati Bhavan is in Begumpet in Hyderabad. For the first time after Telangana state was formed in 2014, Begumpet and its neighbouring areas are witnessing a large presence of police force like never before. Over 1,000 personnel, from different wings of the Telangana police department, have taken control of the entire area, including the commercial buildings, hotels and other establishments. At least a dozen senior officials are camping in the area to monitor the situation on a real-time basis. All vehicles passing through the stretches are allowed only after thorough identification check. The presence of the police force is affecting vehicular movement in the area. Traffic is moving at a snail’s pace in both the directions from Secunderabad towards Begumpet and Banjara Hills towards Begumpet.

Meanwhile, scores of students from Osmania University who started a rally to Pragati Bhavan were stopped at the university’s main gate and detained. Tense moments prevailed as the students entered into arguments with the police personnel.

Revanth Reddy

A dramatic scene unfurled at the home of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president and Malkajgiri MP A. Revanth Reddy. A police team rushed to Mr Revanth Reddy’s home in Jubilee Hills in the early hours of Monday to communicate about the orders and place him under house arrest. Mr Revanth Reddy’s family told the team that he is not present at home and had left on Sunday night. The family were also not aware of his whereabouts. Suspecting that he might have taken shelter at the residences of his followers, friends or hotels owned by them, teams began scouring several locations across the city, but in vain. Special teams have been entrusted to trace Mr Revanth Reddy’s whereabouts to prevent him from making any move towards Pragati Bhavan.