3 min readLucknowJul 22, 2023 04:04 AM IST
First published on: Jul 22, 2023 at 04:04 AM IST
A STUDENTS’ protest over fee hike and other issues at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University took an ugly turn on Friday when a group of ABVP members and people from outside the campus assaulted university officials, including the Vice-Chancellor, and damaged property. They also assaulted police officers who tried to intervene in efforts to restore order.
Although the students have been staging protests since the first week of July, the immediate trigger for the violence was said to be the refusal by university officials to meet the protesters on Friday.
Among the injured were Vice-Chancellor Rajesh Singh and officiating registrar Ajay Singh, who suffered head injuries after being attacked with a blunt object.
“In the presence of police, students and outsiders created a ruckus on campus. The police tried to convince the students to stop but they failed. The police then decided to take the university officials out of the campus safely. When the V-C was being taken to safety, the miscreants manhandled him,” said a university official, who did not wish to be identified.
“The miscreants attacked and injured officiating registrar Professor Ajay Singh. When he fell on the ground, the miscreants hit him and he suffered injuries. They also hit him with a blunt object on his head. Later, the police shifted him to a safer place,” the official said, adding that some contractors, blacklisted earlier by the university administration, were also involved in the incident.
The police used mild force to disperse the protesters.
ABVP office-bearers could not be contacted.
“The episode was captured on CCTV. There are some outsiders involved in the violence. We have filed a complaint with the police, naming students and outsiders, including contractors,” said a senior university official.
He said that students involved in the violence have been expelled and their names will be disclosed Saturday.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Gorakhpur, Gaurav Grover said the university has submitted a complaint and a case is being lodged. No arrest has been made so far though some persons are being questioned.
BJP’s Gorakhpur district president Yudhistar Singh said, “I don’t have full information about today’s matter. I have heard that ABVP members were staging a protest.”
On July 13, a group of protesters had assaulted the proctor, following which four students were expelled.
A video grab of the incident at DDU Gorakhpur University 
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