

PUDUCHERRY: Home Minister A Namassivayam on Tuesday announced that students of Pondicherry University have called off their agitations after a tripartite talk between university officials, the government, and student representatives.
The announcement came following a high-level consultative meeting convened by the Minister Namassivayam at his Legislative Assembly office on Tuesday evening.
The meeting was attended by Vice-Chancellor Prakash Babu, Dean of Students’ Welfare Venkat Rao, OSD Vamseedhar Reddy, senior police officials and student representatives.
The unrest began on October 9, when students of the university’s Karaikal campus laid siege to the V-C’s office demanding action against a professor accused of sexual harassment.
The protest escalated late into the night, prompting police intervention and a lathi-charge to disperse the students. 24 students, including six women, were detained.
Police later arrested 18 students and released them on bail. Student bodies had subsequently announced plans to march to the Raj Nivas on October 16. Namassivayam said an agreement had been reached on key issues.