Gorakhpur varsity expels 18 students for violence, attack on V-C on campus

The university has barred entry of six outsiders, including a private contractor and ex-students, who were allegedly involved.

Gorakhpur Circle Officer Yogendra Singh said among 22 people named in the FIR, eight were arrested and sent to jail. They were released on bail on Friday. “Raids are being conducted to trace the others involved in the  violence,” he said on Saturday.

While protests by a section of students have resumed outside the campus over fee hike and other previous demands, Navneet Sharma, Gorakhpur-based former national executive member of ABVP, on Saturday said, “We are now also demanding that the expelled students be reinstated because this action would destroy their careers.”

The proctor’s office has issued notices to the expelled students and asked them to file replies if they want to give their version of the incident.

The university action came on the basis of CCTV footage, videos and photographs of the violence that took place on the campus on July 21 following a protest over fee hike and other issues, according to officials.

On Friday, the university authorities declared names of the expelled students. “We have ascertained the role of 24 people, including 18 students, in the violence,” university proctor Satyapal Singh said. “Action is being taken against them. The role of the other miscreants is also being looked into.”

The expelled students are pursuing graduation and post-graduation courses, with some of them being Law students. The university has prevented their entry on the campus and they stand barred from taking any examinations, a university official said.

Among those expelled are some who reside in the university hostel, and the authorities have begun the process of vacating their hostel rooms.

While the room of one one such expelled student was vacated on Friday, a varsity official said they are collecting information on other hostel residents among those expelled, and “they will also be vacated”.

To deter miscreants and avert any further incident or law and order breakdown, the proctorial team has decided to issue passes to outsiders who go to the university for morning and evening walks, proctor Singh said.

Earlier, on July 21, a protest on the university campus took an ugly turn when a group of people, purportedly from the ABVP, and some outsiders allegedly manhandled university officials, including Vice Chancellor Rajesh Singh and officiating registrar Ajay Singh. They also damaged university property and allegedly assaulted some police officers who tried to intervene, university officials said.

An FIR was registered at the Cantonment police station in Gorakhpur against 22 people — both students and outsiders — on multiple charges, including rioting, wrongful confinement, and voluntarily causing hurt. The police also invoked the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act.