A major unrest unfolded on the campus of Banaras Hindu University on Tuesday as a clash occurred between students and security personnel, accompanied by heavy stone pelting. Over 20 decorative flowerpots kept outside the LD Guest House were smashed during the chaos. Police teams from several stations rushed to the campus to bring the situation under control, after which officers began chasing students back towards their hostels. For nearly two hours, panic and disorder gripped the campus. Throughout the conflict, police and members of the proctorial board were seen running after students with the intention of beating them.
“A student at BHU’s Rajaram Hostel was injured after being hit by a bike belonging to another hostel resident. Students from Birla Hostel took the complaint to the proctor’s office, alleging that campus guards assaulted them,” a student told FoEJ Media.
The sequence of the incident starts when a group of students assaulted another student. On intervention of the security personnel, the attackers were nabbed and were handed over to the proctorial. After a while, several students from the hostel gathered and attacked the security guard.
“Some students began stone-pelting and vandalism on campus. Stones were thrown on the hostel road, and several students, guards, and police personnel were injured during the night. An FIR has been filed against around 100 students. Police have also arrested a few outsiders and former students for allegedly being involved in the incident,” a student told FoEJ Media.
Ahead of this, as reported by the Lannan Top, students came out of their hostels and began a sit-in protest outside the vice-chancellor’s residence. As the protest continued, tensions snowballed and stone-pelting suddenly erupted. Angry students reached the LD Guest House crossing and smashed several decorative pots.
To regain control, police resorted to force. Since then, the campus has remained tense. The confrontation is believed to have started earlier on the evening of December 2, when a student from the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Hostel was injured in a bike accident. The injured student went to the university’s proctorial board to file a complaint but was allegedly driven away without being heard.
When students from Raja Ram Mohan Roy Hostel, Birla Hostel, and others learned of this, they gathered and began protesting. Students allege that the proctorial board staff lathi-charged them, after which angry students retaliated with stone-pelting. Considering the deteriorating situation, the university administration called in the police, who have now been deployed on the campus in large numbers.
