Lucknow: Close to a year after student protests rocked Banaras Hindu University (BHU) over the alleged gangrape of an IIT-BHU student, the institution has suspended 14 students for indiscipline and disturbing the “academic ambience in the university” during the protests.
The suspended students are from various student organisations. Seven are members of the Bhagat Singh Students’ Morcha (BSM), three are from the All India Students’ Association (AISA), one each from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the DISHA Students’ Organisation, and two are office-bearers of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
The suspensions—ranging from 15 to 30 days—followed a recommendation by the Standing Committee on Disciplinary Action to the BHU vice-chancellor. Apart from suspension, the panel also recommended that certain facilities such as hostel accommodation and library use, and disbursal of HRA, be withdrawn.
It further recommended compulsory community service and counselling sessions after the suspension period.
Two NSUI leaders—Rajiv Nayan, president of NSUI BHU, and general secretary Suman Anand—were suspended for 15 days although the committee noted that their involvement in a scuffle between two student groups was not established, though they were at the protest site.
Hundreds of students protested on campus last November after the IIT-BHU student’s alleged gangrape, demanding the arrest of the accused who were absconding for months.
The suspension order issued 26 September said the “act of misconduct/indiscipline” during the protest could not be ignored.
“They are not only habitual offenders but their words and actions are also hostile, arrogant and least respectful to the university administration and teachers, as the dharna at the BHU main gate and subsequent scuffle between the two groups of students not only created a sense of insecurity at the site of incidence disturbing the academic ambience in the university, but also defamed this prestigious university,” said the order.
ThePrint reached BHU’s public relations officer Rajesh Singh for comment. A response is awaited.
The incident in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency raised concerns about women’s safety in the country where reports of sexual violence against women have been increasing.
Three members of the BJP IT cell were arrested in the case. Two of them, Kunal Pandey and Anand Chauhan, were released on bail in August this year after they approached the Allahabad High Court, while the third, Saksham Patel, is still in jail.
The case sparked a political slugfest in Uttar Pradesh, with opposition parties accusing the ruling BJP of protecting the accused and failing to ensure the safety of women in the state.
The Samajwadi Party and Congress had slammed the BJP government after two accused got bail, saying the case was being weakened to protect the culprits.
Also Read: IIT-BHU campus has changed for women after student gang rape. Life stays the same for men
Protests turned violent
The campus protest turned political when members of the BSM, AISA and ABVP members accused each other of attacking them, leading to violence at BHU’s main gate where students had been protesting for many days.
A member of the ABVP women’s wing, Medha Mukhopadhayay, filed a police complaint against 18 student leaders and members of other student outfits, saying they had beaten her up.
In February this year, the chief proctor wrote to the Standing Committee on Disciplinary Action informing it about the FIR lodged on Mukhopadhyay’s complaint, and requested that it take necessary action against involved students.
When the protests started in September 2023, police had said that some students threw stones at them and damaged university property. Students alleged they were lathicharged by police, a claim denied by the BHU administration.
Students said they were peacefully protesting against rising cases of sexual assault on campus and the university administration’s failure to take women’s safety seriously.
One of the suspended students, Akanksha Azad of the BSM, told ThePrint students called to give their statements told the committee it was biased against the members of the BSM, AISA and Congress student wing NSUI.
She said that the BSM, AISA and NSUI—the only active organisations on campus—were being targeted.
“We said that they are biased towards us because the students who were attacked were being called for questioning. We were told that they have identified us from the CCTV footage. There were goondas and hooligans involved in that scuffle,” Akansksha told ThePrint.
“We told them they saw 15-20 people from our side but not from their (ABVP) side. They asked us to give their names, saying that they too would be called. However, they have taken no action against them,” she said.
Suspended NSUI leaders denied being involved in the scuffle last year.
NSUI leader Rajiv Nayan said two members of the outfit’s BHU unit had been suspended even though the committee itself said in its notice that their involvement in the scuffle was not established.
“We were not involved in the scuffle and the administration itself believes that. Still, it has said that we were seen indulging in misconduct without giving any details or defining the misconduct,” he said.
Last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also raided the residence of two of the suspended students—BSM President Kumari Akanksha and BSM Joint Secretary Siddhi Tiwari—as part of what it termed a “crackdown on cadres/over-ground workers of the (banned) Communist Party of India (Maoist)”.
Akanksha also received a notice to join the NIA investigation in a case lodged against several activists from across Uttar Pradesh in connection with the “revival of the northern region bureau (NRB) of banned outfit CPI (Maoist)”.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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