Probe finds students' 'plot' to launch anti-varsity protest in Indore like Nepal's 'Gen Z' movement

Indore: Investigation by a committee of Indore's Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya has found that five engineering students allegedly forced their juniors to open fake Gmail and X accounts as part of their conspiracy to launch social media protests against the university similar to Nepal's 'Gen Z' movement, officials said.

Generation Z refers to the people born between 1997 and 2012. Earlier this month, large-scale anti-corruption protests swept across Nepal, predominantly organised by Generation Z students and young citizens.

The immediate trigger for the "the Gen Z" protests in the Himalayan nation was the government's suspension of social media platforms. The uprising led to the collapse of the K P Sharma Oli government with Sushila Karki being appointed as the interim prime minister.

Talking to PTI on Tuesday, Indore's Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotiya said, "The administrative officer of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya's (DAVV) Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) has filed a complaint against five senior students at the Bhanwarkuan police station for ragging and threatening junior students."

This complaint was filed based on the recommendation of the anti-ragging committee, he said. The complaint, which cites the committee's investigation report, indicated that some senior DAVV students were preparing to launch a protest against the university on social media, similar to Nepal's "Gen Z" movement, the official said. "We do not yet know the basis for the complaint's reference to Nepal's "Gen Z" movement.

We will inquire with the members of the DAVV anti-ragging committee and seek documents from them. Appropriate legal action will be taken after this," Dandotiya added. According to officials, the report of the DAVV's anti-ragging committee indicates that senior students allegedly exerted undue pressure on junior students, forcing them to open fake accounts on Gmail and X.

He said senior students allegedly told the junior students that they would use these accounts to disseminate their messages and related hashtags. Officials said the senior students also allegedly threatened to "batch out" (boycott of other students) the junior students if they did not follow these instructions.

DAVV Vice Chancellor Dr Rakesh Singhai said, "Some senior IET students called 40-50 junior students to a restaurant outside the institute's campus and gave them inappropriate instructions to create fake accounts on Gmail and X and broadcast their messages."

Regarding the alleged plot to launch a social media protest against DAVV, similar to Nepal's "Gen Z Movement," he said some students have mentioned about preparing for such a movement in their oral statements, but a conclusion can only be reached after a detailed investigation.

The VC said the DAVV had recently taken disciplinary action against the senior students involved in a ragging case, and it appears that, out of resentment, they tried to exert undue pressure on the junior students and initiate inappropriate activities against the university.