The complaint filed by the University of Osmania said that prior permission was not taken for the event.
Osmania University Police in Hyderabad registered a case against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) from South Bengaluru, Tejasvi Surya, on charges of trespassing. Surya, who is also the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was booked after a complaint from the university administration. The MP had visited Hyderabad to campaign for the BJP in the upcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections.
The MP visited the university, which had been a hotbed of political activity during the Telangana agitation for separate statehood, on Tuesday, along with his supporters, by removing and breaking down barriers posted at the gate to the NCC campus. He entered the university to address students in the Arts College building. He has now been booked under Section 447 (Criminal Trespassing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The New Indian Express quoted Osmania University Registrar Gopal Reddy as saying that there was no permission to hold such an event on campus. He further added that the administration had filed a complaint with the OU police after receiving instructions from the vice chancellor. Currently, Arvind Kumar, a senior bureaucrat, has served as VC Incharge for the university. The administration also cited a circular that was issued in 2017 that prohibited political activities on campus.
The BJP deputy had previously accused OU police of preventing him from entering the campus. Surya and his supporters removed the barricades, which read ‘entrance only for staff and students’ and entered the campus in a demonstration. Police said they had not detained Surya and that the barricades were erected by the university. With the presentation of the complaint by the administration, the police have registered a case.
Voting for the GHMC elections is scheduled for December 1 and the results of the poll will be announced on December 4.
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