LUCKNOW: There seems to be no end to the unrest in AMU as hundreds of students blocked the main Aligarh-Moradabad Highway overnight till Monday morning demanding the release of a student who was held for allegedly heckling Vice Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor during his Republic Day speech on Sunday.
As per the official sources of AMU, the blockade, which started on Sunday evening, continued till 2 am. However, it finally ended at 11 am following the assurance of the police administration that the arrested student A Mujtaba Faraz would be released soon.
The AMU Vice-Chancellor was heckled by a group of students during his Republic Day speech soon after he termed as "unfortunate" the recent happenings on the campus and said peaceful protests would be allowed on any issue within the ambit of the law. As the Vice-Chancellor was giving his concluding remarks, a group of students raised
slogans – V-C go back-- demanding his removal and a minor tussle ensued between two groups of students in the audience before the security staff chipped in, according to eyewitnesses.
Four students -- Tahir Azmi, Rafiuddin, Sudhir Gulati and A Mujtaba Faraz-- were whisked away by the security staff and taken to the Proctor's office. They were then handed over to police by the university authorities.
In the afternoon, a group of protesters gathered at AMU Proctor's office demanding their release. Three students were later freed by the police.
While talking to media persons, AMU Proctor, Prof Afifullah Khan, said three students were released whereas Faraz was sent to jail. Responding to the news, students in large number gathered at Purani Chungi gate of the University and blocked the Aligarh-Moradabad Highway. Consequently, the university administration had to cancel exams of the AMU Engineering College slated for Monday.
Meanwhile, a group of teachers and top university officials met senior district officials to facilitate the release of Faraz.
The protests on AMU campus against the amended Citizenship Amendment Bill have not ebbed since mid-December. After the winter vacations of around a month, the protests have been continuing on the campus and over 1,200 students, including unidentified ones, have been booked in about a dozen-odd cases connected to different protests.
The students are reportedly enraged with the Vice-Chancellor for calling the cops on campus on December 15, 2019, when the students were protesting against police action on their counterparts in Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi. They are demanding the resignation of top University officials including the registrar and the V-C for failing to secure justice for those students who face police action during anti-CAA stir.
Security arrangements in and around the AMU campus have been further beefed up.