Prayagraj: Days after the Uttar Pradesh police and the Prayagraj administration sealed the Muslim Boarding House in the city, following the arrest of one of the boarders for his alleged involvement in a murder case, residents of the hostel claim they have been forced to spend nights at guest houses and railway station waiting rooms, even as their belongings remain locked in their hostel rooms.
The residents of the hostel are all students of Allahabad University and their plight is compounded by the fact that many of them left behind their books and laptops in their rooms, thinking the closure to be a short one, even as their semester exams are scheduled to begin Monday.
On 27 February, Sadakat Khan, a law student residing at the hostel, was arrested by Prayagraj police for his alleged role in BJP leader Umesh Pal’s murder case. Pal was killed just steps away from his home in Prayagraj on 24 February.
With police have claimed that the conspiracy to kill Pal was hatched in Room 36 of the hostel, district authorities shut the entire hostel premises on 6 March. Residents were told to vacate the premises and return after Holi, which was celebrated on 8 March, claimed the residents interviewed by ThePrint.
They alleged, however, that on 5 March, after they vacated the premises, a notice was issued by the hostel authorities stating that the hostel will remain closed till Eid, which is to be celebrated in April.
In the 5 March notice, accessed by ThePrint, hostel superintendent Irfan Ahmad Khan informed that “a decision was taken at a meeting of the hostel authorities that, in view of the current situation, all students should vacate the hostel on 6 March, taking their belongings. The hostel will remain shut from 6 March till Eid”.
According to one of the students, they were verbally informed about vacating the premises on 3 March. “We were verbally told by the hostel superintendent that we should leave because the situation was very bad (mahaul kharaab hai). On 5 March, a notice was issued saying that the hostel would remain shut till Eid. In less than 18 hours, the sealing began.”
Speaking to ThePrint, hostel superintendent Irfan Ahmad said they had handed over to the district administration a list of 167 students who were staying at the hostel after paying the required fees and 27 students who had not paid the fees.
“We are trying to ensure at least those students who are staying legally after duly paying their fees be allowed to stay, but the administration has said they can take their belongings but can’t stay,” he said.
On Saturday evening, Ahmad wrote to the Prayagraj District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri, seeking help to allow genuine residents to access their rooms independently as their exams were approaching.
“On 6 March, when the rooms of those students staying illegally (without paying fees) were shut, the rooms of those students staying legally were also shut along with the office and the main gate of the hostel. Hence, taking the future of these students into consideration, the rooms of such students be opened and they should be given independence to use them for studies,” read the letter, in possession with ThePrint.
ThePrint reached Khatri and divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant on text messages, but received no response till the time of publishing of this article.
Meanwhile, the students have found support from the Muslim Students Organisation of India, which identifies itself as an apex body of Muslim students and youth. The organisation Saturday issued a statement on Twitter saying that shutting down the entire campus when exams are approaching, was absolutely wrong.
“If someone has committed a crime, that person should be punished not the entire campus. Closing the Muslim hostel of Allahabad University and other hostels when exams are going on is absolutely wrong. The administration should make preparations for the stay of the genuine students in the hostel premises and punish those who are guilty,” the statement said.
Two nights at the railway station
Assured that they only had to stay out till Holi, residents of the hostel interviewed by ThePrint said they left without their books, laptops and other belongings.
“Some of us stayed in the musafirkhana (a guest house), while some had to spend the night at the railway station,” said Mohd. Talib Raza, a resident of Bihar’s Kaimur district, who studies at Allahabad University.
The students claimed that when they returned on 9 March, a day after Holi, they found the hostel premises to be still closed.
The students then approached the hostel authorities, when they were informed that the premises were sealed, following which they approached the district administration.
“We reached the district magistrate’s office Friday and met the ADM (additional district magistrate, administration) who told us that it was the hostel authorities who had sealed the premises and not the administration or police, and if they want, they can open it immediately,” said a second student, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Following a meeting with the additional district magistrate (City) Madan Kumar, the residents said they gathered outside the residence of Barkat Ali, secretary of the Muslim Boarding House trust — called the Muslim Literary Association — which manages the hostel in Minhajpur area of the city — and demanded the hostel be opened.
“We sat outside the residence of the secretary till 9 pm Friday, Barkat Ali was here till Saturday morning. We thought that the hostel will be opened Saturday after discussions with the administration. We even went to the DM office again and Ali accompanied us. We then went to the ADM’s office but were finally informed that he had left by the back door,” said the student quoted above.
On Saturday, students from UP’s Ghazipur, Amroha, Saharanpur and Azamgarh and those from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir living in the Prayagraj hostel remained outside Barkat Ali’s residence, but had failed to meet him till late evening.
Speaking to ThePrint Sunday, Barkat Ali said they have prepared a letter seeking permission from the district administration to allow the students staying legally to stay on the hostel premises.
Speaking from outside the DM office Sunday afternoon, Ali said he was waiting outside the DM’s residence to hand over the letter to him.
“We are trying that at least those students who are legally staying after paying fees, should be allowed to stay in their respective rooms. The administration is of the opinion that the students be allowed to take their belongings and leave, but that won’t help because students have their exams from Monday. For the past three days, students are protesting outside my residence and sleeping on the portico,” he added.
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The approaching exam
Kaif Khan, a Ghazipur resident studying in Allahabad University, was among those who had spent a night at the railway station, waiting for the hostel to reopen.
“We were told that the situation is very bad and asked to vacate immediately and return after Holi. We are in the same clothes since 10 March. Without our notes how will we prepare and appear for the exam which is beginning Monday,?” he told ThePrint.
The second anonymous student quoted above also shared his worries about attendance. “In professional courses like Law and postgraduation, one loses 10 marks in the final marksheet if the attendance is short.” He is studying law at the university.
Many are also worried about the documents they had left behind in the hostel rooms and how they were unable to fill up the job applications.
“The forms for the post of assistant professor (Madhya Pradesh), provincial civil service (PCS), assistant professor (Haryana) are out but we cannot fill them because our documents are inside our rooms,” said a third student speaking on condition of anonymity, who is pursuing a PhD at Allahabad University.
“How can we be evicted in the middle of the session?” said a fourth student, who said he had left his exam admit card behind, adding, “We submitted our fees — ranging between Rs 12,000 and Rs.15,000 depending on courses — one-and-half-month back. It is our right to stay in the hostel till August when the session ends. How can they seal the entire hostel?”.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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