BHUBANESWAR: At a time when the BJB college administration is struggling to address academic shortcomings, rising incidents of students’ unrest on the campus has emerged a greater worry for the state’s premier institution. On Thursday, the college students staged a demonstration to protest detention of a former student by police. The former student, Smruti Ranjan Panda was attending an event when he was taken away by police.
A group of college students raised slogans and blocked the road in front of the campus in protest, causing disruption in vehicular movement. A large number of vehicles were stranded for a long time as the agitating students burned tyres on the road. They also locked the college gate following which all classes were suspended.
Badagada police said Panda was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with girl students and assaulting the brother of one of girls who protested his behaviour on November 14. He has been forwarded to court. “The protest was staged by some of his supporters on the campus,” a police officer said.
This is the third time this year that classes were suspended due to disturbances in the college. In July, the campus saw a violent clash between two groups of students over alleged harassment of a junior. Three junior students were locked up in a classroom by the seniors and had to be rescued by police. Prior to that in April this year, 20 youths had attacked three UG inmates of BR Ambedkar hostel of the college following an altercation over playing cricket on the campus playground.
One of the students sustained head injuries and two others were stabbed in their hands. Students alleged that more than academics, rivalry among students and non-students have taken centre stage in the campus.
“Besides in the past cases, non-students and former students have been found creating disturbances on the campus. However, the college administration has not taken any measures to prevent entry of outsiders here. Anyone without an ID card can enter the campus today,” said a student.
Following a meeting over the incident on the day, college principal Gulam Moinuddin Khan said the administration has been working on minimising entry of outsiders in the campus. But it cannot be stopped entirely because people come to the campus for academic purposes too, he added.
The incidents come at a time when the college administration is struggling to get its autonomous status back. It is close to a year since the autonomous status of the college lapsed and it has not applied for its renewal till date, sources said. The college paid Rs 2.36 lakh to NAAC for assessment for re-accreditation earlier this year but did not go ahead with the process.