In an unprecedented attack, four Seema-Andhra lecturers were injured when students of the Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) descended on the B.Ed spot evaluation centre on the campus on Saturday and thrashed lecturers who had come to evaluate answer scripts.
The Osmania University Joint Action Committee members chased the lecturers, grabbed answer sheets from them and assaulted them. The students alleged that the Seema-Andhra lecturers were deliberately failing Telangana students in exams and demanded their reversion before August 30, failing which they said the agitation would be intensified. They also demanded that the answer scripts of Telangana students should only be evaluated by Telangana lecturers.
On being intimated, the Osmania University police reached the spot and brought the situation under control.
“They chased the evaluators and roughed up some of them,” said East Zone DCP Mahesh Chandra Ladda.
Andhra Pradesh governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, who is also the Chancellor of the university, expressed anguish over the incident and directed the vice-chancellor, Prof. Tirupathi Rao, to submit a report immediately. The university has constituted a committee to inquire into the incident and prepare a report.
“The premises where the spot valuation was going on should have been cordoned off. There should be adequate security at such places. This is a total security lapse on the part of the university. These kind of incidents are totally unacceptable irrespective of any region,” Mr Narasimhan said.
Meanwhile, teachers from the universities in Andhra and Rayalaseema condemned the attack and called for an educational institution bandh on August 30 to protest the attacks.