NEW DELHI: Tensions further escalated on Saturday as protests by residents of the girls’ hostel entered their third day, with the All India Students’ Association (AISA) alleging that a university official assaulted students, a claim firmly denied by the administration.
The protest began earlier this week after students raised concerns over the quality of food served in the hostel mess, alleging the presence of insects and other foreign objects. What started as a grievance over basic facilities apparently snowballed into a larger confrontation between students and authorities.
On Saturday, AISA accused Assistant Proctor Maqsood Ahmad Malik of manhandling students near the office of the Dean of Students’ Welfare around 1 am on Friday.
According to the student body, the alleged incident occurred when protesting students resisted what they described as attempts at intimidation. AISA further claimed that a student’s phone was snatched while she was recording the episode, and that the electricity supply near the protest site at Centenary Gate was switched off, with barricades erected to isolate the demonstrators.
The university, however, rejected the allegations and offered a different version of events. Officials said most of the students’ demands had already been accepted on the first day of the protest. They accused a section of the protesters of escalating tensions, alleging that two hostel gates were broken late Friday night and members of the proctorial team were manhandled, compromising campus security.
The administration also clarified that the protest was not being held at the designated site near Gate No. 18, and maintained that the switching off of lights in parts of the campus was part of routine energy conservation measures and was not linked to the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, students continued to press for key demands, including the cancellation of the current mess contractor’s agreement, deployment of female staff in the hostel mess, action against those responsible for the lapses, and an assurance that no disciplinary action would be taken against protesters.
