UP: Students protesting unrecognised law course clash with police on university campus

BARABANKI: A clash took place between the police and students at a private university here during a protest over an alleged unrecognised law course, an officer said Tuesday. After purported footage online showed baton-wielding policemen on Monday confronting demonstrators on the campus of Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered removal of the circle officer (city).

The protesting students have accused the university of jeopardising their future by enrolling them in a programme without recognition from the Bar Council of India. Several students were injured in the confrontation and a glass of Gadia police outpost was broken. Security forces were deployed on the campus after the incident, the officer said.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, joined the demonstrations, accusing the university of collecting illegal fees and demanding action against varsity administration. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Adityanath has taken cognizance of the incident, the state government said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Lathi charge at college campus in UP

"Chief Minister expressed displeasure over the action taken against the students, and has ordered removal of CO. Ayodhya divisional commissioner has been ordered to investigate the validity of the degree of Ram Swaroop University Barabanki, and a report has been sought by evening," the statement said.

The chief minister also instructed that IG Ayodhya Range will investigate the lathi charge incident, it said. Later, an inquiry team comprising Divisional Commissioner (Ayodhya) Rajesh Kumar and IG (Ayodhya Range) Praveen Kumar met a delegation of ABVP and was briefed on the entire sequence of the event.

In a statement, the ABVP said the delegation presented the facts of the incident and demanded the strictest possible action against officials responsible. Issues between students and the university administration should have been resolved through dialogue. Instead, in the presence of the CO (city), the police "brutally" lathi-charged the students protesting peacefully, which is "completely unjustifiable", the statement said.

Ankit Shukla, national secretary of ABVP, stated, "Police intervention between students and the university administration is entirely inappropriate. The brutal lathicharge on peaceful students began as soon as the CO arrived. We demand an impartial investigation into this entire episode and the strictest punitive action against all guilty officials and the university administration."

"Injustice against students will not be tolerated. If the students' demands are not met within a set timeframe, ABVP activists will be forced to launch an agitation in the interest of students, for which the Uttar Pradesh government and the university administration will be fully responsible," he said. While videos showed men in uniform thrashing some young men with batons, police denied using "excessive" force.

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Law programme is fully recognised, says university

"Some people from the university and students clashed, which worsened the situation. Injured persons are undergoing treatment. No written complaint has been received so far. Video footage is being examined," Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya told PTI. Additional SP (North) Vikas Chandra Tripathi said police had only separated warring groups and denied using batons.

"The situation is now peaceful," he added. The university has rejected the allegations, insisting its law programme is fully recognised. Registrar Prof Neerja Jindal said the administration had "no role in the clash" and accused some people of spreading misinformation about the BCI's recognition of the law course. "The Bar Council of India has uploaded approval documents for 2022-23 on its website.

The university has also paid affiliation fees till 2027," she said, adding that a sworn affidavit was issued to assure students about the validity of their degrees. Earlier, ABVP functionary Akash Shukla alleged that "students were brutally beaten, an attempt to suppress voices raised for their rights". The organisation demanded a fair probe and action against those responsible.

Six injured students were admitted to Mayo Hospital and two to the district hospital, the ABVP claimed. On Monday night, agitated ABVP activists demonstrated outside District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi's residence, burnt his effigy, and later marched to the SP's office, raising slogans against the administration and vowing to continue protests until action was taken.

ABVP's Awadh state secretary, Pushpendra Bajpai, said the protest will continue "until the vice-chancellor himself comes forward to speak with the students, the expelled students are reinstated with dignity, and the situation regarding the law degree's recognition is clarified." "We will not tolerate any injustice against students' interests," Bajpai added.