CITYROCKZ

HYDERABAD: The self-immolation of a pro-Telangana student, whose charred body was found on the Osmania University campus on Tuesday morning, set off a chain of events across Telangana districts prompting students to boycott classes; building up of pressure on MLAs from the region to resign and calling for a Telangana bandh on Wednesday.

Tension escalated as scores of students rushed to the campus on hearing about the self-immolation of K. Venugopal Reddy, a final year student of MCA in Lalita PG College at Ghatkesar, near the Tagore auditorium. Morning walkers noticed the body and alerted the authorities. Police found a handwritten suicide note purportedly written by Venugopal Reddy expressing his anguish over the delay in forming the State.

As news broke out, students across the 10 Telangana districts boycotted classes, examinations and university authorities had to postpone semester exams of all post-graduate courses slated to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. Agitated students prevented the police from shifting the body for an autopsy and the charged up atmosphere forced even senior officers to withdraw themselves from the auditorium.

A host of political leaders and Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) convenor Kodandaram, were mobbed and buttonholed by students, when they rushed to the site. The agitators argued with them insisting that they immediately quit their posts. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, after attending an emergency meeting of Telangana JAC, too arrived. He attributed the rising tendency among people to commit suicide to contradictory statements being made by the Congress leaders at the State and Central level.

Venugopal Reddy was living with his brother, Srinivas Reddy, a research scholar in the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). On Monday evening, he told his brother that he was going to the campus and did not respond to calls made in the night.

Mahabubnagar Correspondent writes: Suvarnamma, a first year B.Sc student of Government Degree College, committed suicide in her native village of Mirasipalli in Kothakota mandal, leaving a note saying she was taking her life because she was afraid that separate Telangana would not be a reality.

According to the police, she was alone in her house and at about 8 p.m. doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze. Police found a letter that she had addressed to her brother Manyam, a government teacher, explaining why she was taking the extreme step.

Courtesy: http://www.hindu.com/