Protest against fee hike: Student leader makes self-immolation bid on Allahabad University campus

The undergraduate final year student, Adarsh Bhadauria, who is also a member of NSUI, was protesting against the recent fee hike of courses by the university.

A student leader at Allahabad University attempted a self-immolation bid on Monday. He was stopped by fellow students and policemen stationed at the site near the Allahabad University union hall.

Students and cops trying to snatch away the bottle of kerosene from the student leader who tried to self-immolate himself on AU campus on Monday. (ht photo)

The undergraduate final year student, identified as Adarsh Bhadauria, who is also a member of National Student Union of India (NSUI), the student outfit of Congress, was protesting along with a large number of other student leaders near the union hall of AU against the recent fee hike of courses by the university.

Superintendent of Police (City) Santosh Kumar Meena said, “Adarsh Bhadoria who was one of the students staging protest, attempted self immolation inside the university campus.” He was stopped from doing so and detained, he said.

The police later cleared the area and removed the protestors from the site.

Meena said the university administration has lodged a complaint against some people including university students for disturbing peace inside the campus.

Police have lodged a case regarding the incident and initiated an investigation.

As per eye witnesses, Bhadauria poured kerosene on himself but before he could take any further step, police personnel at the spot and other student leaders caught him and prevented any untoward incident.

The AU administration had recently increased the fee of courses for new students after a gap of several decades, but the student leaders are protesting over the decision and some prominent political leaders including Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress MP Pramod Tiwari have also extended support to their protest.

The student leaders are of the opinion that the decision of AU is unjustified and against the student fraternity as most of the students coming to AU belong to poor background and cannot afford the increased fee.

AU authorities maintain that the fee, which has been increased after several decades, is still less than what other central universities are realising despite the fact that those central universities are getting much more grant as compared to AU.

AU’s public relation officer, Prof Jaya Kapoor said, “AU has been facing reduction in funds but had still refrained from raising the fees but in view of the need to garner resources to meet the expenditure and provide facilities to students, fee hike was an imminent requirement”. Thus, the decision was taken to raise the fees for the first time ever since the university came into existence as an independent entity in 1922, she added.

Later in the day, police also detained activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) (AU unit) in front of the office of the Dean Students’ Welfare (DSW). ABVP has been protesting for the last few days against the fee hike and other problems in the university.

“We had detained some of the student leaders of AU including the one who had attempted self-immolation. But we freed them later in the evening after counselling them”, said SHO of Colonelganj police station, Ram Mohan Rai.

Meanwhile student leader Ajay Yadav ‘Samrat’ who has also been at the forefront of the anti-fee hike protests, released a video on social media wherein he is seen requesting the police and district administration to take action against him, if they intend to, but they should not trouble his family members or identify his house for demolishing.

with Agency inputs