Hisar, Apr 17 (PTI) JJP leader Digvijay Chautala was booked, while six people were arrested on Friday in connection with vandalism that unfolded during a protest at the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJU S&T) here a day earlier, police said.
The arrested accused are connected with JJP’s student organisation INSO, the police said.
They were produced before a court here and were sent to judicial custody. ON Thursday, tensions gripped the university after the authorities denied permission to let the JJP’s youth wing hold an event on the campus, triggering a massive protest.
Security cordons were breached, flower pots were damaged, and scuffles broke out with the police, it was alleged, during the protest.
Around 250-260 people, including JJP youth wing workers, gathered at the Yadav Dharamshala community centre near the campus around 12.10 pm on Thursday and took out a march towards the vice-chancellor’s office, the police said.
During the march, led by JJP’s youth wing chief Digvijay Chautala, a scuffle broke out between the police stationed there and the protesters, who tried to break into the VC’s office near gate no 3.
“The unruly mob not only obstructed public servants in the discharge of their official duties but also forcibly entered the campus and damaged the gate of the vice-chancellor’s (VC) office, thereby creating an atmosphere of panic within the premises,” the police statement said.
Charges of criminal trespass, rioting, damage to public property, and assault on police personnel have been invoked against the accused.
Hisar (City) Police Station SHO Amit Kundu said, “In the FIR which we have registered, six people have been arrested. The FIR also names Digvijay Chautala, and he is among those who have been booked.” The police said efforts are underway to identify others involved in the violence, and they are scouring CCTV footage and gathering other evidence. The JJP condemned the arrest of its youth wing workers.
Party leader and Haryana’s former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and his brother Digvijay Chautala came to the police station here and courted arrest in solidarity.
Dushyant Chautala objected to the police allegedly forcing them into the residences of JJP leaders and workers late Thursday night and behaving rudely.
He wondered if the police would barge into homes at midnight “because one or two flower pots were broken in the university?” He also said his party was gathering evidence against the police action and would file cases against the “erring officials.” Dushyant Chautala claimed that no gate of the vice-chancellor’s office was broken, only a few flower pots, and termed the incident an exaggeration.
Meanwhile, to maintain law and order in the district, District Magistrate Mahender Pal imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS.
Hisar Superintendent of Police (SP) Siddhant Jain vowed to punish the agitators.
“No unruly element that attempts to disrupt law and order will be spared. Causing damage to public property and assaulting police personnel are grave offences. The Hisar Police remain committed to maintaining peace,” he said in a statement.
Digvijay Chautala accused the college administration of adopting what he termed as “repressive policy towards students.” “We sought permission from the GJU administration to understand the students’ grievances and to engage in a dialogue with them. However, the administration did not respond. In contrast, the GJU administration granted immediate permission for any programme organised by the BJP,” he alleged.
“JJP’s student organisation, INSO, stands firmly with the students, and resolving their problems is our top priority,” he added.
The police said that the university administration gave no permission for the ‘Student Dialogue’ programme, citing security concerns and past experiences.
GJU Vice-Chancellor Narsi Ram Bishnoi, in a statement on Thursday, condemned the incident and pointed out a past instance when a member of the JJP’s youth wing created a ruckus on the campus.
On the Thursday protest, Bishnoi alleged that Digvijay Chautala and his supporters laid a siege to his office and thus violated the dignity and discipline of the university.
“Under the guise of a protest, certain individuals arrived with the intent of engaging in hooliganism. They did not even submit a formal list of demands,” he said.
The vice-chancellor claimed that there was a significant number of outsiders among the protesters, who engaged in vandalism with the specific objective of creating disorder within the university. PTI COR SUN VN VN
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