Protesting candidates detained, allege foul play in sports quota

Hyderabad: A day ahead of the Group I (Mains) examinations, a curfew-like situation prevailed in Hyderabad's coaching hub in Ashok Nagar, with heavy deployment of armed forces, cops in mufti, and barricades all around. As a preventive measure, dozens of aspirants were detained by the police, foiling their attempts at organising a press meet. They were released later in the day.
Some aspirants accused cops of resorting to lathicharge, though the police refrained from commenting on it."Even though we wanted to voice our grievances peacefully, we were chased away and beaten up," alleged an aspirant.
Accusations about lack of transparency in the sports quota also flew thick and fast, with many claiming that Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) officials called some candidates under this quota, late on Saturday night, and asked them to download the hall ticket, despite their names not being on the first list of candidates shortlisted for the Mains.
When asked about it, E Naveen Nicolas, secretary, TGPSC confirmed the move but said that it was only for candidates who went to the Telangana high court over the issue. "So, as per HC's directive, we issued hall tickets to them," Nicolas told TOI.
Since last week of Sept, thousands of Group 1 aspirants have been staging protests in the city demanding postponement of the Mains exams. They have also been agitating over the new quota rules introduced through a govt order (GO 29) in April, which earmarked seats for SC/ST candidates (93 and 52 respectively), along with those from economically weaker sections (49), physically-handicapped (24) and sports quota (4). About 30 aspirants even went to court over these issues, with some claiming that the order will deprive reserved candidates of an opportunity.
"This is no way going to benefit SCs, STs, or BCs as claimed by the govt. Further, there are cases pending in the Supreme Court. We urge the govt to conduct the Mains entrance after all cases in various courts are cleared," said Somishetty Dinesh from Warangal, who qualified for the Mains.
The aspirants also alleged that for the past 40 days, they have been running around courts and have had no time to prepare for the exams, and are hoping for a positive response from the govt. "We have lost all the preparation in the midst of this uncertainty. We are also worried about the Group III entrance scheduled on Nov 17 and our performance. Group I entrance will take a week to complete, and there is very little time for Group III," said another aspirant.
Meanwhile, candidates who received hall tickets under the sports quota at the last minute alleged that it was nothing but harassment. "How can we get ready for the entrance in such short notice? We demand postponement of the entrance," said one of them.