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Two killed in police firing in Hyderabad

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

Two people, including a policeman, were killed and several others injured when police opened fire at an opposition rally in Hyderabad on Monday.

The rally, led by top Congress and Left leaders, was a protest against the recent power tariff hike in the state.

One sub-inspector and 10 police constables were also injured as protestors pelted stones and set vehicles afire.

The police resorted to firing at several places near Fathemaidan and Bashirbagh crossroads. As many as 35 people sustained injuries and were moved to government-run hospitals.

The Congress and the Left are demanding a complete roll-back of the tariff hike, which they believe will hit the poor hard.

The state government had given permission to a Congress-Left public meeting at Babu Jagjivan Ram statue, half-a-km from the assembly complex.

However, the participants insisted on marching towards the assembly and were stopped a short distance away from the legislature building and asked to disperse.

When they did not heed the orders and continued to press forward, the police resorted to a lathi-charge and burst tear-gas shells. This was followed by firing in which two persons were killed, one of them a policeman.

Eye-witnesses said that the police fired at least 60 rounds.

The protestors later moved towards the Tank Bund area, where the revolutionary poet Gaddar was holding a dharna against the tariff hike.

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