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| Protesting students want action against cops | | |
Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
srinagar, Apr 6: The Campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) here which has been rocked by clashes over the past one week or so was turned into a fortress today following yesterday's incident in which police used force against the protesting outstation students.
The authorities had deployed personnel of Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the entry of NIT in order to avert any further clashes in the campus. The police and CRPF personnel could be seen quizzing the people who made bid to enter the campus. Only the students were allowed to enter and everybody else including media not allowed to enter the campus.
The outstation students who are on protest in the campus met the team sent by Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry in order to take stock of the situation and report back. The students narrated their ordeal to the visiting team and made it clear to them that they cannot continue their studies since the atmosphere is highly surcharged and tense.
Reports said that the HRD Ministry team including Sanjeev Sharma, Director (Technical Education) and Deputy Director Finance, Fazal Mehmood reached the campus in the morning today. The team interacted with the management of the institute and also talked to the non-local students who are on protest against the incidents that unfolded at the campus over the past one week.
The protesting students told the visiting team that they were 'brutally' attacked by the police personnel when they tried to take out a peaceful protest demonstration in support of their demands on Tuesday evening. The students said that cops went on rampage and beat them mercilessly despite the fact that the demonstration was peaceful one.
It has been learnt from sources that the non-local students made it clear to the HRD team that they cannot pursue their courses further at the campus since the situation is volatile with everybody including the police after them. They demanded that instructions should be issued to the college management for proper security of the students failing which they would be forced to call it a day.
While the local students attended their classes today, the non-locals boycotted the same saying that they will not attend classes unless their demands are met which including hoisting of National flag at the main gate of NIT Srinagar. More than 2000 non-Kashmiri students are studying at NIT Srinagar.
Ruckus broke out at the campus in the evening on Tuesday when police personnel beat up many non-local students while they were carrying out a protest demonstration. Some of the protesting students alleged that the cops entered their hostel as well and beat them up without any rhyme or reason. They alleged that the cops acted in a 'brutal' manner and beat the students as if they were criminals. However, police denied the charges.
In the meantime, DIG Central Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Bhat and SSP Srinagar Amit Kumar visited the NIT campus today. The campus had witnessed clashes between local and outstation students after India's defeat to West Indies in the World Cup T20 semi-final match a day earlier at Mumbai. Following the clashes, the NIT authorities had shut down the institute and it reopened on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar today said the ongoing tension in NIT Srinagar is an administrative issue and not the security issue. He said the state Government is taking all the requisite measures to restore normal academic activity at the campus.
"I assure the parents of the students of NIT Srinagar that their wards are safe and the state Government is taking all the measures to normalize the situation at the campus," Akhtar said. He said it is not a local versus non-local issue but just an administrative issue which is being sorted out.
The Education Minister said that a senior police officer is monitoring the situation and normalcy would be restored on the campus soon. He urged the students not to resort to any violence and instead focus on their studies. He also urged the civil society to rise to the occasion and help in restoring normalcy at the campus.
In the meantime, some of the traders today said that they were not allowed to visit the NIT campus in order to play their role in defusing the situation there.
"A joint team comprising of Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, President and Gowher Maqbool, Senior Vice President, The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCC&I), Mohammad Yasin Khan, President, Kashmir Traders Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) and Mohammad Ashraf Mir, President, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) wanted to visit NIT, Srinagar so as to use its good offices in defusing the prevailing situation in the campus. But the team was not allowed by the Government machinery to enter the NIT, despite its plea that the students of the NIT are like their own children and it is a social responsibility of the business organizations which the team was representing, to ensure the students study in peace and tranquility," said Faiz Bakshi, Secretary General KCC&I in a statement. |
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