The Hyderabad Police on Thursday arrested several students of Osmania University, social activists and members of Hindu organistions and foiled beef and pork festivals, and a cow puja at the campus.
The police had earlier detained 16 students of Osmania University for organising a beef festival at the campus and the BJP legislator who allegedly threatened to repeat the Dadri incident if the event took place.
The students, also the organisers of the event, were detained for defying the court order against holding the beef festival on campus, NDTV reported.
Several other protesters, workers of Bajrang Dal, Gau Raksha Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were also arrested later on Thursday. Women activists of the Gau Raksha Dal were also arrested when they tried to enter the campus, IANS reported.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Goshamahal T Raja Singh was arrested for allegedly saying that he will kill or get killed to oppose the beef festival. Assistant Commissioner of Police K Ram Bhupal Rao told PTI that they had arrested Singh as a preventive measure to maintain law and order
Singh had said that he along with his men will organise a 'Gau Puja' on Thursday in oppsoition to beef festival. He had even allegedly threatened to repeat the Dadri incident if the need arises.
"We don't want an incident like Dadri here, but I am willing to kill or be killed to protect cows. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot stop me from preventing this beef festival... I don't care what the party says. People have a right to choose what they want to eat but it should not hurt anyone's religious sentiments," he had said.
A Muslim man, Mohammad Akhlaq, was lynched by a mob in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, after rumours about him killing a calf and eating its meat started doing the rounds.
The Osmania University students had announced that they will organise a beef festival on Thursday, which is also World Human Rights Day. In opposition to which, another group had declared a pork festival on the same day.
However, a court in Hyderabad delivered a ruling seeking stay on both beef and pork festivals on the campus. The court's order was based on a petition filed by an advocate who contended that these events violate Cruelty Towards Animal Act and Cow Slaughter Act, PTI reported.
He also said in the petition that the beef and pork festivals hurt the religious sentiments of the people. To further support his petition against the events, he cited that clashes had broken out when beef festivals were organised on the campus by a section of students in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The court, suspending both beef and pork festivals, observed that it is illegal and violate various animal rights laws, according to NDTV report.
