After an uproar over slapping noted Human Rights activist, Prof. Haragopal and others with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Telangana Government is said to have decided not to pursue the case and drop it.
Sources said the Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekhar Rao enquired with the Director General of Police (DGP), Anjani Kumar about the history of the case, and is said to have commented on the need to slap the draconian law in this case. With directions from the Chief Minister himself, the police is now looking into the details of the case can be diluted.
Also Read | Congress demands withdrawal of UAPA against professor Haragopal
A senior police officer said that the case will not be pursued in all likelihood and when the chargesheet is filed the names of Prof. Haragopal and 151 others will not be mentioned. The UAPA case cannot be withdrawn easily and due process has to be followed even to dilute it if the police doesn’t find any strong evidence to be taken note of by the Court.
Cases were filed against Prof. Haragopal, a retired professor of the University of Hyderabad; Prof. Padmaja Shaw, a retired journalism professor of Osmania University and 150 others in August 2022 at Tadwai police station in Mulugu district. The inclusion of their names came to light when the police were forced to furnish the FIRs filed against Mr. Chandramouli, president of People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), based on the direction of the Ranga Reddy district court.
One of the FIRs named them for conspiring to ‘take over the power of the democratically elected government at gunpoint’. Some of the sections invoked were related to rioting with deadly weapons and unlawful activities.
