Hyderabad: A student leader of the Disha Students Organisation was detained by the Osmania University Police on Thursday, July 23, for taking part in a protest against the alleged NEET paper leak on the varsity campus, and was released about two hours later.
According to the organisation, its member Mahipal was picked up and taken to the OU Police Station, where the Station House Officer (SHO) told them he had been placed under preventive detention over his participation in a protest held on the campus on Wednesday, July 22.
The organisation alleged that Mahipal was detained to prevent him from taking part in another protest planned at Dharna Chowk later on Thursday, and said in a statement that he had been an active participant in recent Hyderabad protests against alleged police action on students in Delhi on July 20.
The organisation said it was part of the wider students’ movement demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the paper leak issue.
Sreeja, a member of the organisation, told Siasat.com that Mahipal was detained over the campus protest even though about 100 other students had also participated, and questioned why he alone was picked up, since protesting was “not a crime.”
An Osmania University Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) told Siasat.com that Mahipal was brought to the police station for verification “since he had taken part in the campus protest, and was released as he had an examination to attend.”
After his release, Mahipal told Siasat.com that the campus protest was led by the United Students of Osmania University, who invited him to share the stage, and that he had appealed to other students to join.
The student raised slogans such as “Dharmendra Pradhan resign karo,” “NTA ko radd karo” and “Paper leak aaapali (stop paper leak).”
“Police were present at the protest, during which slogans demanding Pradhan’s resignation and the scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA) were raised. Such protests are held regularly at the university without seeking prior permission,” he added.
This post was last modified on July 23, 2026 1:55 pm