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Violence rocks Varanasi BHU campus as students

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 24, Sep 2017, 6:53 am IST | UPDATED: 25, Sep 2017, 14:01 pm IST

Violence rocks Varanasi BHU campus as students VARANASI: Violence erupted on BHU campus on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Nrendra modi left Varanasi after his two-day visit to his constituency, when students from boys' hostels indulged in hurling stones and petrol bombs, targeting the police and paramilitary forces on VC Lodge Road on campus late on Saturday evening.

Violence broke out following reports of some hostal suffering injuries in cane-charge by policemen near VC lodge. Angered over this, students retaliated.

Varanasi SSP RK Bhardwaj said that heavy police force has been deployed at BHU and SP (city) Dinesh Singh is camping on the spot in view of violence on campus.

According to reports, police had to resort to cane-charge after a group of boys blocked the gate of the Vice-Chancellor's lodge in support of girl hostellers protesting since Friday against the menace of harassment on campus.

On Friday, girl hostellers had held a 13-hour demonstration even as Modi attended programmes in the city.

Girls leading the protest said, "Two motorcycle-borne miscreants sexually harassed a BFA-III girl student near bharat kala bhawan when she was returning to her hostel in Triveni complex, around 7pm, on Thursday. She reported the matter to proctorial board's security personnel but instead of helping her they asked her why she was out of the hostel after sunset."

On reaching her hostel, the girl had informed her roommates about the incident and they all decided to protest. On Friday morning, they staged a demonstration at the BHU's Lanka gate and were joined by students from girls' hostels of  and IIT-BHU. Their charter of demands included round-the-clock security, making security personnel accountable for untoward incidents targeting girl students, proper lighting arrangements on routes leading to their hostels, CCTV network, proper checking at all entry gates, recruitment of women security personnel and formation of gender sensitisation committee.

They demanded that the VC talk to them at the protest venue but no varsity officials met them till Friday evening. The protest necessitated change of route of the PM's fleet during his visit to the city. The girls said students' wings of all political parties were extending support to their stir.
 
On the other hand, BHU spokesman rajesh kumar singh alleged the girls had been provoked by those who had been ousted from varsity in different episodes including agitation for keeping the library open round-the-clock. He alleged the protest was politically motivated and it was timed with the PM's visit. He claimed the girl who had been targeted by miscreants on Thursday evening had met the VC in his office.

Singh said the VC has announced that new security plan for campus was being finalised and some other demands including proper lighting arrangements on hostel routes and enhancing security would also be met. He said that VC has assured girl hostellers that he would talk them at MMV hostel at Triveni complex.

 Before the university officials could convince the protesters to go back to their hostels, CPMF personnel reached the campus, which led to panic. SP City Dinesh Singh said a company of CPMF was made available to Lanka police station in view of PM's visit. As soon as the CPMF contingent left, hundreds of girls came out of the hostels and joined the stir, while the university administration refused to accept their demand of holding talks with VC in the presence of media persons and with live-streaming on social media.