Gurugram: Over 20 students were injured Tuesday evening when their protest at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) demanding the restoration of scholarships escalated into violence in Hisar.
The students have alleged that security guards encircled and thrashed them following which Hisar police lodged a case Wednesday against eight university officials and staff members.
The assault on students has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition leaders, who have accused the Nayab Singh Saini-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of mishandling the situation at Haryana’s premier agricultural institution.
ThePrint looks at the grievances of the agitating students, their charges against the HAU administration and other related developments.
The trigger & fallout
Students allege that they went on protest after HAU’s deciided to cut stipends for MSc and PhD students, previously set at Rs 6,000 per month for MSc students and Rs 12,000 for PhD students with an Overall Grade Point Average (OGPA) above 7.5, and Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 for others, by restricting the higher stipend rates to only the top 25 percent, regardless of how many achieve the required OGPA.
As the new policy limits stipends to the top 25 percent of students, many students were worried amid the rising costs of hostel fees, food, and academic materials. The decision, which was taken earlier this month, would come into effect in August.
After unsuccessful appeals to the university authorities, they staged a sit-in near the vice-chancellor’s office on 10 June to demand reinstatement of the original stipend structure, the students say.
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What FIR mentions
According to the FIR lodged by Deepanshu Kadian, a first-year B.Sc. (Hons) student, the protest turned violent when five security guards, including a woman, allegedly attacked the students without provocation, injuring three of them. Aayush, Jateel, and Mohit.
A second incident occurred in the night near the V-C’s residence, where Registrar Pawan Kumar, Professor Radheshyam Sharma, and Chief Security Officer (CSO) Sukhbir Singh, allegedly acting on the V-C’s orders, assaulted students with sticks and batons.
Deepanshu—one of the injured students—sustained a head injury requiring six stitches, while another, Chakshu, required 30 stitches. Other students suffered blunt trauma, as confirmed by Medical Legal Reports (MLRs) from the Civil Hospital, Hisar.
Five eyewitnesses corroborated the unprovoked nature of the attacks. The FIR charges the accused under Sections 110 (attempt to culpable homicide), 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(2), 191(3), and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Section 191(2) addresses rioting wherein an unlawful assembly uses force or violence, while Section 191(3) pertains to rioting with a deadly weapon. Section 351(3) involves criminal force causing grievous hurt, covering injuries requiring significant medical intervention (like stitches sustained by the injured students).
What HAU & students say
The students’ agitation, according to HAU registrar Pawan Kumar, was infiltrated by “anti-social elements.”
He told The Print Thursday that despite 11 June being a holiday (Kabir Jayanti), the university offered to discuss demands of the students, but they did not attend. Kumar claimed that by Wednesday evening, “external influences” led to disruptive behaviour.
He added that the stipend policy change was scheduled for August, allowing time for dialogue. The final semester exams were disrupted as no students attended despite requests, the registrar said.
Deepanshu Kadian, the complainant, spoke briefly as he was down with a head injury. Before handing the phone to a final-year B.Sc (agriculture) student, he demanded the arrest of the university officials involved in the assault on students.
The other student, who himself as Rohit Kumar, told The Print that the injuries to over 20 students made attending exams unfeasible. He further alleged that while the students tried to take the route of talks, the HAU administration remained “inflexible”.
The HAU officials, he too said, should be arrested if the university wants to sit down for talks with the students.
Opposition slams govt
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Arjun Chautala condemned the lathicharge as “shameful and cruel” and demanded the dismissal of the CSO and security personnel as well as a transparent inquiry and reversal of the stipend cut.
He further warned that the regional party would launch a state-wide agitation if the demands were not met by the Haryana government.
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP government of turning the HAU into a “battleground.” The Rajya Sabha MP also questioned the security personnel’s actions and demanded the arrest and dismissal of the V-C, the Registrar, and the CSO.
Criticising the “barbaric” lathi charge, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) youth president Digvijay Singh Chautala sought a high-level probe by an Inspector General-rank police officer and strict action against the accused.
The FIR was “inadequate” and the violence was a deliberate attempt to suppress the students, he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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