Wave of protests engulfs State : Police arrest thousands of agitators

Hyderabad: Thousands of RTC employees, students and political party activists including their leaders were taken into custody on the State bandh day on Saturday.

According to Additional DGP Jitender, 124 cases were registered across the State till evening on Saturday and the officials were busy in compiling the reports came from all over the State.

City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said there were 83 calls for Dial 100 and police patrol cars helped the citizens in distress. A total of 786 preventive arrests were made during the bandh agitations and 90 per cent shops and markets were remained open in Hyderabad, he stated.

Police started arrests of agitators from the morning hours and took several leaders of opposition parties, people's organisations, student groups and RTC employees into their custody and shifted them to the respective police stations from the protest spots.

Police took TJS president Prof M Kodandaram, TDP leaders L Ramana, Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy and others into preventive custody at Jubilee Hills police station and shifted them to Bollaram police station.

Congress leaders Bhatti Vikramarka, D Sridhar Babu and Anjan Kumar Yadav and others were arrested for protests at Charminar and shifted them to Kanchanbagh police station.

BJP Chief K Laxman and other leaders P Sudhakar Reddy, N Ramachander Rao and others were also shifted to Abids police station after taking them into their custody at Abids crossroads.

Left party leaders Tammineni Veerabhadram, Ch Sudhakar, Vimalakka and others were arrested at RTC crossroads for staging protests in support of RTC employees' bandh.

Mild tension prevailed for some time at RTC crossroads when CPI (ML) leader P Ranga Rao's finger was fractured during his arrest by police. Police immediately shifted him to a private hospital in Secunderabad for an emergency treatment.

Kanchanbagh police arrested 11 women conductors, who were agitating at Midhani depot and shifted them to Madannapet police station. One of the conductors fell ill in police station after her sugar levels increased.

On the other hand, the striking RTC employees and the political parties' activists thrashed the private bus driver, who was trying to take the bus out of the Bandlaguda depot in Nagole.

The protesters in anger deflated the bus tyres and cut the diesel pipes. Police in escort tried to move the buses but the RTC employees in large numbers obstructed their efforts due to which heavy traffic jam occurred on Bandlaguda-Nagole and LB Nagar road.

The cops arrested the agitators and shifted them to LB Nagar police station. DCP LB Nagar Zone Sunpreet Singh said cases were registered on the protesters, who thrashed the private bus driver.