Hyderabad: Several University of Hyderabad (UoH) students were injured in clashes after members of the right-wing Akhila Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) reportedly assaulted Students Federation of India (SFI) members. The incident took place on April 17, after two students had reportedly objected to communal songs being played in campus, which eventually led to the violence.
Though the incident came to light on Friday, the UoH administration a day earlier on April 18 constituted a panel of faculty members to look into the matter and submit a report. On Friday, UoH students who tried to hold a a press conference outside the main gate said they were prevented by the police form doing so, citing the Lok Sabha Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that is in place.
According to a UoH student, the genesis of the incident was the communal songs that were reportedly played by the ABVP at a farewell party. “Because the two students (from SFI) objected to it, ABVP goons, about 70 of them, landed up at the hostel to attack them. From our side only about 20 of us could reach and because of that ABVP members assaulted us. Not only that, they also groped women students,” an SFI member from UoH said.
He added that the Gachibowli police in spite of being informed arrived only an hour later. “Many students had gone to the UoH Health Centre for treatment. While we were taking a person with disability to a hospital outside campus, ABVP members however stopped the ambulance and created ruckus,” said another student.
After the incident, the UoH Students’ Union called for an all party meeting. Both sides also have released statements. The ABVP dismissed all allegations and said that claims that it instigated violence or that it attacked anyone is “fabricated”. The right-wing student group, affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), also said that the Students Union of UoH has become a “mouthpiece” for the SFI”.
The Muslim Students Federation in UoH also called for an inquiry into the incident, asked the administration to take action against perpetrators of the violence that students faced.
