First signs of unease in the government with the ongoing general strike across the Telangana region was visible on Friday as the police arrested Swami Goud, chairman of the joint action committee(JAC) of government employees that is spearheading the agitation.
Goud was taken into custody when he was addressing a meeting of striking doctors and paramedic staff at the state-run Gandhi Hospital. He was taken to a nearby police station only to be released later as TRS president K Chandrasekhara Rao and other political leaders rushed to the spot demanding the government to spell out the reasons behind his arrest.
Political parties and other pro-Telangana organisations condemned the police action even as the general strike entered the fourth day today with majority of government employees belonging to the region, including workers of state government-owned enterprises along with Singareni Collieries, staying away from duties.
The city police has also invoked Section 144 in Hyderabad for a week banning rallies and other protest gatherings in the light of the strike.
Reports coming from nine out of ten districts except Hyderabad, suggest that the response to strike was near total.
