Hyderabad police detain SFI leaders protesting over NTA exam paper leaks

On Monday, police detained several Students' Federation of India (SFI) leaders following a hunger strike near Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad. The protest was organized in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) march in Delhi, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the scrapping of the National Testing Agency, and action over examination paper leaks.

Those detained by the police included SFI state president S. Rajanikanth, secretary T. Nagaraju, vice-presidents M. Mamatha, D. Kiran, and K. Ashok Reddy, along with several other state leaders. The police shifted the detained student leaders to the Musheerabad police station.

CPM state secretary John Wesley and former MLA Julakanti Ranga Reddy had earlier inaugurated the hunger strike. Representatives of the Telangana Agricultural Workers’ Union, KVPS, and DYFI backed the SFI protesters, while the TSUTF condemned the police action and later visited the detained leaders at the Musheerabad police station.

Other solidarity demonstrations occurred across the city. The Khairatabad DCC organized a candlelight rally from the Rajiv Gandhi statue opposite the Secretariat to the Ambedkar statue at Tank Bund to demand Pradhan’s resignation and condemn police action against protesters in Delhi, with Minister Ponnam Prabhakar joining the rally. Additionally, student organizations including ASA, BSF, DSU, SFI, and TSF marched from Velivada to the main gate at the University of Hyderabad.

Many Hyderabad citizens also traveled to Delhi to participate in the main mobilization near Parliament. Hyderabad-based teacher Amit Bose and activist Bilal Quadri were among those who flew to the national capital. In Delhi, police used tear gas and batons against the protesters, resulting in injuries and detentions. Quadri was admitted to a hospital with a mild concussion after a police lathi-charge during the chaotic demonstration.