Pune Police on Saturday registered a case against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers following a violent clash with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at a university hostel campus ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in the city.
Police were deployed in large numbers at the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) hostel campus after members of the ABVP and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) clashed on Friday.
Based on a complaint filed by an ABVP member, police registered a first information report against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers under sections 115(2), relating to voluntarily causing simple physical hurt; 189(1), relating to unlawful assembly; 351(1), relating to criminal intimidation; and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Police Act, an official said.
The complainant alleged that Congress workers were forcing female students at the institute to register for the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event and pressuring one of them to record a video statement.
According to the complaint, ABVP members visited the hostel to inquire about the matter, following which Congress workers allegedly verbally abused and assaulted them.
Earlier, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who visited the hostel after the incident, claimed that ABVP workers had threatened the two female students.
Akshay Jain, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Media Department, described the incident as “extremely unfortunate”.
He said the two female students had raised concerns over scholarship issues and supported the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event.
(With inputs from PTI)