KOTTAYAM: A march taken out by SFI activists to the Toms Engineering College, Mattakkara in Kottayam on Wednesday, alleging that management authorities were torturing students, turned violent. Agitators destroyed glass panes of the college during the protest.
The march, which commenced from Mattakkara junction at around 1.30 PM reached at the college campus and the SFI activists barged in to the campus and destroyed properties in the premises. . Despite the police team from Ayarkkunnam Police Station trying to control the mob, it was of no use.
SFI state president Jaick C Thomas inaugurated the march, which was led by SFI district president Rijesh K Babu, secretary T S Sarath and Jins Devasya. The protest was organised in the backdrop of a student’s suicide at Nehru College, Thrissur, which triggered massive agitation against private college managements across the State.
However, SFI leaders said that the protest has no connection with Nehru College incident and they organised the protest march after the Toms college management turned down repeated warning of the parents, students’ organisations and police against the torturing of students.
“College management, especially its chairman, has been torturing the students in various ways. Claiming it as fully residential campus, they do not allow the students to go home even on holidays. There is no warden at girls’ hostel and the college chairman visits each room in the hostel even after 6 PM, denying privacy of the girls. Management targets the students, who register complaints against such activities and threatens them in the name of internal marks,” Rijesh said.
“Recently, management convened a meeting of parents and students, on the basis of demand raised by around 150 parents. And in the meeting, college chairman had assured that no more of such incidence will happen in the college. Breaching the assurance, they continued the same, which forced us to conduct a march to the college,” he added.