Yechury condemns police action at Hyderabad varsity

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday condemned the police action against students of Hyderabad University and demanded action against the vice chancellor.

In a letter to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Yechury said he was "anguished and angry" at the "brutal police attack" against students and other sections of the academic community at the university on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The manner in which girl students were attacked by male police with the liberal usage of foul language against them is reprehensible," he wrote.

"... the arrested students must be released immediately and the cases against them must be dropped. The Telangana police must immediately proceed on the registered cases against the vice chancellor," the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader demanded.

Police have detained around 30 students protesting against the return of vice chancellor Appa Rao, who had proceeded on leave after the suicide of Rohith Vemula, when the police crackdown happened.

Rao has been booked under charges of aiding and abetting the suicide by creating the circumstances leading to the incident.

"Instead of proceeding against the vice chancellor on this case, Telangana police has resorted to such brutality against the students," Yechury wrote.