Andhra youth's protest on 'special category status' stopped by cops

VISAKHAPATNAM: A group of youth under the banner of

Andhra Yuvatha

were made preventive arrest on Thursday by Vizag cops in Andhra Pradesh in order to prevent them in the participation of a silent protest with a demand of Special Category Status (

SCS

) to Andhra Pradesh.

“We have made preventive arrests to nearly 50 youth at the entry of RK beach my point,

YMCA

Junction in the RK beach as part of the today’s silent protest,” circle inspector Lakshmana Murthy told TOI.

This apart, a section of police stations in the city including One Town, Three Town and Two Town made preventive arrests of activists from YSR Congress, Congress and Jana Sena Party on Thursday morning.

Taking inspiration from neighouring Tamil Nadu’s Jallikattu protest, the state youth called for the silent protest through various social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, at the RK Beach in Vizag on Republic Day on Thursday.
After the protest gained momentum with the support of actor-turned-politician and Jana Sena Party head Pawan Kalyan, the city police issued high alert in the city.

A senior cop informed to TOI that the YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to visit the city on Thursday evening to take part in the candle light rally in the city as part of the protest for SCS. “The chances are less for the participation of Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan in the city.”

When contacted, Andhra Yuvatha executive member from Vizag, V Satish Kumar, said "Nearly 200 group of us were arrested at YMCA Junction in RK Beach. We were sent to a police training centre at Bakkannapalem, nearly 15kms away from the city."