Student protests continue at AMU, opposition MPs seek probe into police crackdown

Aligarh (UP): Protests at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus entered the fourth day on Monday, with students continuing their boycott of classes in large numbers, a senior faculty member said. On Sunday, the protestors gathered at the Bab-e-Syed gate to continue their indefinite dharna. They are demanding the rollback of a steep fee hike, the conduct of long-pending students' union elections, which had not been held for eight years, and the removal of certain senior university officials allegedly responsible for the crisis.

Several Opposition MPs have written to AMU vice chancellor Naima Khatoon expressing concern over the police and university crackdown on Friday, when protestors were offering collective Friday prayers at the dharna site. Congress MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood urged the vice chancellor to order a probe into alleged excesses against protesting students, including the reported police action inside the campus.

He demanded an immediate rollback of the enhanced fee structure and said he would raise the matter in Parliament. Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rehman Barq and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi have also sought a probe into the events. Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said the steep hike in fees "negates the very idea of providing affordable education to marginalised sections."

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Violation of democratic rights

He added that blocking peaceful protests in a university amounted to "denial of democratic rights of students." The All India AMU Old Boys' Association held an emergency meeting and expressed "grave concern" over the reported mishandling of the situation by senior university officials, which it said led to the crackdown on peaceful protestors, association secretary Azam Mir Khan said.

Meanwhile, AMU sources said some senior university officials and members of the Executive Council have reportedly held parleys with students in a bid to resolve the impasse.