Hyderabad:
When he began his hunger fast on Sunday, K Chandrasekhar Rao said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Gandhi and use non-violent protest to win statehood for Telangana. But that aspiration has been completely defeated.
After being arrested on Sunday, Rao was kept at Khammam Jail, where he refused to either end his fast or apply for bail.
On Monday evening, he was rushed to a local government hospital. Now, according to latest reports, Chandrasekhar Rao has ended his fast at Khammam hospital on medical advice.
Outside, Hyderabad erupted in violence, the result of a bandh called by Rao's party, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), and supported heavily by sympathetic student groups.
Near Osmania University in Hyderabad, vehicles were set on fire and passers-by were attacked by students and TRS activists. Monday's incidents of arson brought back memories of the late 60s and the early 70s, when Osmania University was the epicentre of a violent agitation for a separate Telangana state.
The outburst, students say, is in retaliation against the police lathicharge on Sunday. When Rao was arrested, students began violent demonstrations at different locations included Kakatiya University in Warangal.
The State Human Rights Commission summoned the Director General of Police to explain the action against the students, but many say it's apparent that the students wanted to provoke the police. ``Few anti-social elements have also come into the picture to instigate and disturb the law and order situation,' says the tense Education Minister for Andhra Pradesh, Sridhar Babu.