CHENNAI: A students’ protest seeking the dismissal of Hyderabad Central University Vice-Chancellor P Appa Rao and Madras University professor David Ambrose for allegedly ill-treating Dalit Students led to a scuffle between them and the police, which left scores of students with minor injuries.
A police personnel, too, claimed he suffered a fracture in the melee.
When the members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) representing various educational institutions in Chennai gathered near Shastri Bhavan on Saturday to stage a protest, the students and police entered into a scuffle over a verbal dispute before they were evicted and released near Nungambakkam. A group of students sustained injuries and a police Sub-Inspector Gopinath also claimed to have allegedly fractured his hand in the melee.
Shreeya Manohar, a student, alleged that the trouble began when she and another student Greeshma asked for details of the FIR. “Sub-inspector Gopinath said details can’t be shared. When one of our friends Azhar Moindeen tried to intervene, the SI tried to throw a chair and started hurling abuses before assaulting us. The doctor said I have a concussion and blood clot,” said Shreeya, who got treated at the nearby nursing home.
When contacted, Gopinath blamed the students for the ruckus. “We were good with them until the students turned violent just when we were releasing them. They questioned us about the FIR and used abusive language. I warned them, but they failed to mend their ways, but instead attacked me causing a fracture in my hand. Then they hit themselves to create a scene. We have filed a CSR and action will be taken against them,” Gopinath, who is admitted to KMC hospital, told Express.
Early in the day, the students tried to meet the representative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to express their anguish. A protesting student Charu said the students rights were violated inside educational institutions and they were only fighting for their rights.