Students, Left organisations protest at US Consulate in Hyderabad for backing Israel; 70 detained

The protest was organised to condemn the US government’s ‘support’ for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which have led to thousands of civilian deaths. (Image credit: @cpimspeak/Twitter)

A total of 70 demonstrators, including 63 men and seven women, were taken into preventive custody by the Hyderabad police on Thursday during a protest organised by the Communist Party of India (CPI) and allied Left-wing groups outside the United States Consulate in Nanakramguda, The Hindu reported.

The protest was organised to condemn the US government’s ‘support’ for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which have led to thousands of civilian deaths. It began around 10.30 am, with participants holding placards and shouting slogans against both US imperialism and Israeli aggression, Siasat reported.

Some of the placards read, “Zionism down down, US imperialism down down,” and “In the face of Netanyahu and the USA, Palestine will be free.”

The police detained @cpimtelangana State Secretary John Wesley and other leaders who were protesting Israel's genocidal war on the people of Palestine. The protest in front of the US consulate in Hyderabad was called by Left parties who condemned Israel and demanded that the… pic.twitter.com/C6n5PxUA7r

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 19, 2025

Speaking to Siasat, Sandhya, a protester from the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), said, “The US is enabling the massacre of innocent people in Gaza, including children, doctors, teachers, and journalists. This is nothing short of genocide.”

Another protester, Bharat from the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), said, “These strikes, supported by the US, are not just harmful to Palestine, but they also pose a global threat. We demand an immediate stop to these brutal attacks.”

The demonstration included students and members from various leftist organisations such as CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) New Democracy, CPI(ML) Massline, CPI(ML) Liberation, MCPI(U), AIFB, RSP, and SUCI(C). They accused the US of supporting Israel’s continued military offensive and called for international pressure to halt the violence.

Among those detained were students from the University of Hyderabad (UoH), including former student union leaders Ateeq Ahmed and Kripa Maria George.

The students said they were stopped before even reaching the consulate. “We were picked up en route. In custody, the police confiscated our phones and harassed us. Some female protesters faced even worse treatment,” Siasat quoted Kripa Maria George as saying.

In response, Hyderabad police claimed the protest was an attempt to grab media attention and justified the detentions as a security measure to protect the US Consulate.