A peaceful protest by students of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) against the auctioning of 400 acres of campus land turned violent on Sunday morning, as police resorted to force, detaining over 50 students and allegedly manhandling several, including women.
The Students’ Union, alongside the Joint Action Committee (JAC), condemned the police action as an attack on democratic rights and called for the immediate release of those detained.
The demonstration began after reports surfaced of police forces and eight JCB vehicles entering the East Campus to clear forest land in Kancha Gachibowli, an area slated for auction by the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC).
The 400-acre parcel, rich in biodiversity and home to protected species like deer and star tortoises, has been a contentious issue since May 2024, when the Telangana High Court ruled it belonged to the state government.
The Congress-led state government, citing economic distress, recently handed the land—adjacent to Hyderabad’s financial district and valued for its real estate potential—to TGIIC for auction.
Students, supported by the Teachers’ Union, Workers’ Union, and Non-Teaching Staff Union under the JAC banner, rallied to protect what they call a vital ecological and educational asset.
“This is an assault on public education and our environment,” said Nihad Sulaiman, General Secretary of the Students’ Union, who was among those reportedly manhandled by police.
“At least 100 protesters have been detained. We were peacefully protesting inside our campus when the police used brute force against students, including female students,” a student told Maktoob.
Witnesses alleged that male officers attacked female students, tearing their clothes, while others were beaten on buses after detention.
One student was reportedly struck on the nose with a police helmet.
The protest escalated when police blocked access to the East Campus and began clearing the forest, prompting students to gather at the university’s main gate. They demanded a halt to the land clearing and the release of detained students, whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The Students’ Union also raised concerns over the lack of proper demarcation of the land, noting that a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the auction is pending in the Telangana High Court, rendering the current actions potentially illegal.
The university administration has faced sharp criticism for its silence and apparent complicity.
“Instead of safeguarding students, security forces are aiding the police in suppressing our voices,” the Students’ Union said in a statement.
Despite repeated appeals, no official response has been forthcoming from the administration.
The land in question, part of the 2,300 acres originally allotted to UoH, has seen multiple encroachments over the years, including for the Gachibowli Stadium and a TSRTC bus depot. The JAC argues that auctioning it to private entities threatens both the campus’s ecological integrity and the future of public education.
As outrage grows, the Students’ Union has vowed to continue its resistance “legally and politically,” urging civil society, media, and the university community to join their fight.
Meanwhile, the heavy-handed police response has drawn widespread condemnation, with calls for accountability mounting across Hyderabad.
