Pune Police have booked 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers following a clash between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) at a university hostel, ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with female students at a city-based college on Saturday evening.
The incident took place at the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) hostel campus late on Friday, following which police personnel were deployed in large numbers at the premises to prevent any further trouble.
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The FIR was registered on Saturday morning based on a complaint filed by an ABVP member. Police have booked 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers under Sections 115(2), relating to voluntarily causing simple physical hurt; 189(1), relating to unlawful assembly; 351(1), relating to criminal intimidation; and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Police Act.
ABVP alleges students were pressured
ABVP State Secretary Atharva Kulkarni alleged that NSUI workers were pressuring university students to attend Gandhi’s programme, claiming that the organisers were struggling to get an audience.
{{/usCountry}}ABVP State Secretary Atharva Kulkarni alleged that NSUI workers were pressuring university students to attend Gandhi’s programme, claiming that the organisers were struggling to get an audience.
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“Around 100-150 NSUI workers entered the COEP campus and heckled female students. Some of the students who tried to intervene were also targeted,” he alleged.
NSUI denies allegations
NSUI cadres, however, claimed that some university students had planned to attend Gandhi’s interaction to raise the issue of scholarship money that they said they were not receiving from the state government. They denied the ABVP allegation that any student was heckled.
“When ABVP cadres came to know of this, they went to the university and requested them not to attend Gandhi’s event. We also went there and protested against ABVP for trying to stop students from attending Gandhi’s event,” said city Congress youth president Akshay Jain.
‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign
Earlier, Pune police had granted permission for Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with female students under the party’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign at the AISSPMS ground on August 22, but have imposed 30 conditions on the organisers.
The conditions place the onus of maintaining law and order squarely on the organisers. Police warned that they can cancel the permission and initiate legal action if any activity detrimental to public order is detected during the programme.
“We have received permission from Pune police. We will comply with the conditions police have laid out for the event,” said senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi.
The Congress programme is part of its nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign, launched to highlight issues concerning students and the education system.