University College calls it a day as 3 hurt in students’ fight

The scuffle was over the incident of putting up Veer Savarkar’s photo in a college classroom

Tension prevailed at the University College here, after a group of students came to blows over the incident of Veer Savarkar’s photo being put up in a classroom.

The fight occurred on campus at about 12.45 pm on Friday. Three students were allegedly injured and were admitted to a hospital. To alleviate the situation, the principal declared the campus closed for the day.

Students of University College, Mohammed Marzuk, Mohammed Irfaz and Aboobakkar Siddiq filed a complaint at Pandeshwara police station alleging they were assaulted after being interrogated for complaining to the college principal about the photo mounting.

The students in their complaint also alleged that they were assaulted by members of ABVP. In a counter-complaint, Prajan Shetty and Swasthik (full name?) alleged that a few students pushed Shetty around and assaulted Swasthik.

Pandeshwar police said they received two complaints about the clash. According to them, one group alleged that three were injured, while another group said two had suffered injuries. “The investigation is in progress (turned direct quote by me). We are verifying which organisations they belong to,” said the police.

The police are also verifying the video footage from CCTV cameras installed in the college.

Condemning the assault, members of Campus Front of India, NSUI and Youth Congress staged a protest outside the college gate in the evening.

The protesters alleged that students from Muslim community were targeted and assaulted. Earlier, Muslim students wearing hijab were prevented from entering classrooms, they said. There is a conspiracy to keep Muslim students away from pursuing their education, the protesters alleged.

The protesters also claimed that no action was taken against students who had put up the portrait of Veer Savarkar inside the classroom. Those who assaulted Muslim students should be arrested, they demanded.

The protesters said that they will not allow Savarkar’s portrait in the college.

It was reported that the Savarkar portrait was mounted in a classroom by a few students on June 6. The principal had made the students remove the next day.

Separately, Principal Dr Anasuya (full name?) did not receive any reply for the show-cause notice served to three Muslim students for violating college’s disciplinary code. The last date to reply was June 9.

The principal is said to have written to Mangalore University Registrar seeking guidance about the next course of action.