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Violence breaks out between ABVP and NSUI supporters during student elections in Uttarakhand college
The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Haldwani : Violence broke out on Saturday during the student union elections at Motiram Baburam Postgraduate (MBPG) College, Kumaon’s largest higher-education institution, as rival student groups clashed, hurled stones, and allegedly misbehaved with police personnel.
The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd and restore order.
MBPG College has 13,978 registered students.
In this student body election, Abhishek Goswami contested from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Kamal Vora from the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and Mohammad Arshad as an independent candidate.
Polling began at 9 am.
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Within the first hour of polling, NSUI candidate Kamal Vora alleged that two “fake” students attempted to vote and accused ABVP of facilitating fraudulent voting. Tensions escalated around noon after reports surfaced that a group was allegedly making fake ID cards at a nearby cyber cafe. Students rushed to the spot, leading to heated arguments and stone-pelting between the two parties.
Police intervened promptly to control the situation. Both ABVP and NSUI supporters blamed each other for instigating the violence.
Around 1 pm, former student leader Sanjay Joshi allegedly assaulted unopposed deputy secretary candidate Manoj Bisht, leaving him injured and bleeding.
The incident triggered further unrest, with students clashing with police. Order was eventually restored, and polling resumed.
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Voting concluded at 2 pm with a turnout of 25.75%, with 3,599 students casting their ballots.
The counting began at 3 pm. At the time of filing of the report, it was underway.
Haldwani circle officer Nitin Lohani said, “The election process ended, and two impostors have been detained. Those involved in stone-pelting and assault are being identified, with one accused already in custody. Traffic on Nainital Road was diverted during the polls.”
