7 students expelled from hostel over cooking ‘meat’
BERHAMPUR: Seven students of Parala Maharaja Engineering College in Sitalapalli, located on the outskirts of Berhampur city, have been expelled from their hostel for allegedly cooking meat in one of their rooms.
The issue snowballed into a controversy after Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists lodged separate complaints with police alleging that the seven, including six from minority communities, allegedly cooked and consumed beef in their hostel room on the night of September 11.
On September 12, the dean of Students’ Welfare office of the government engineering college expelled the seven for their involvement in “restricted activities”.
The notification stated, “The dean of Students’ Welfare, Parala Maharaja Engineering College, Berhampur, has expelled the following boarders from their respective halls of residence (HoRs), with the approval of the competent authority, for their involvement in restricted activities in Room No B-23 of Falguni hostel on the night of 11-09-2024, which breached HoR Rules and the Code of Conduct.” One of the expelled students was imposed a fine of Rs 2,000.
Sources said, when the complaints reached Gopalpur police, a team went to the college and carried out preliminary inquiry. The seven reportedly told police that they had brought mutton from a kin’s wedding which they cooked in one of the rooms and consumed the same.
The Bajrang Dal and VHP activists, however, alleged that beef was cooked and consumed in the hostel room. They met principal Prof Chittaranjan Mohanty, demanding action against the students and an FIR with the police.
“Since it was not possible to ascertain what was consumed, we asked the college authorities to conduct an internal inquiry and inform us basing on which we could decide the next course of action,” DIG Sarthak Sarangi said.
On September 12, the seven students were expelled from their hostel. The college authorities, however, remained tight-lipped on the matter even though attempts were made to contact them.
The expelled students were pursuing degrees in Computer Science Engineering (CSE), Electronics and Telecommunications (ETC), and Electrical & Electronics (EE).