TJAC chief taken into protective custody ahead of unemployment rally in Hyderabad

The Hyderabad police on Wednesday thwarted the Telangana Joint Action Committee’s (TJAC) attempt to hold a rally of the unemployed youth by taking committee chairman Prof M Kodandaram and his associates into preventive custody, besides arresting hundreds of students and youth across Telangana on Wednesday.

In an early morning operation, hundreds of policemen, led by Hyderabad east zone deputy commissioner of police V Ravinder,madetheirwayto Kodandaram’s residence near Osmania University and asked him to surrender along with his associates.

However, with Kodandaram refusing to yield, the police forcibly broke open the front door and took him and other TJAC leaders into custody. They were taken to Kamatipura police station in the Old City.

Other leaders captured the entire operation on video and posted it on social media.

Kodandaram alleged that police started arrests in various parts of the state from Monday and over 600 people had been taken into custody. The police, however, warned youth that if they violate the prohibitory orders, criminal cases will be booked against them.

“Everybody knows that all the cases against me were foisted by the previous combined Andhra Pradesh government during the Telangana movement. If I am a criminal for having cases on me, then the same cases were filed against KCR as well. Is he a criminal? It is atrocious to call the unemployed youth participating in the rally as extremists,” Kodandaram said.

The TJAC chief demanded that the CM fulfil his election promise to provide jobs to one lakh unemployed. It is seeking immediate steps for filling all vacancies in government departments and PSUs.