Around 40 activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) barged into the office of Saint Andrew’s College and allegedly assaulted the proctorial board staff and teachers on Wednesday.
Alleging corruption in the functioning of the 100-year-old minority college run by Catholic Diocese of India, the activists of the right wing student organisation allegedly thrashed the school staff when they were ‘not allowed to meet the principal’.
Principal JK Lal has submitted a written complaint against Saurabh Kumar Gaur, general secretary, ABVP’s Gorakhpur unit, and around 40 others unnamed ABVP workers.
In the complaint letter submitted to Cantonment police, the college administration has also accused the ABVP workers of thrashing the staff and damaging the college property, a charge rejected by the ABVP.
No FIR was lodged till late evening.
“We have received the complaint. The incident is being probed,” said Chandrabhan Singh, station house officer, cantonment.
The college has also submitted a two-minute long CCTV footage, which shows aggressive ABVP workers surrounding the principal in large number while the staff trying to shield him.
Outraged over the incident, teachers and college staff have written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, governor Ram Naik and vice chancellor DDU Gorakhpur University, threatening to go on indefinite strike if the accused were not arrested at the earliest.
“Raising slogans, a large number of ABVP activists barged into the campus to hand over the memorandum. When the member of proctorial board tried to stop them saying only 5 to 6 members can be allowed to meet the principal, they turned aggressive and all of them barged into the office. They beat up proctorial board staff and teachers and when the principal mediated, they hurled abuses on him and tried to hit him too,” the complaint said.
{{/usCountry}}“Raising slogans, a large number of ABVP activists barged into the campus to hand over the memorandum. When the member of proctorial board tried to stop them saying only 5 to 6 members can be allowed to meet the principal, they turned aggressive and all of them barged into the office. They beat up proctorial board staff and teachers and when the principal mediated, they hurled abuses on him and tried to hit him too,” the complaint said.
{{/usCountry}}Prakash Aditya Pandey, media incharge, ABVP, said that it was a peaceful protest. “The college staff tried to interrupt the peaceful protest by ABVP workers and clashed with them. Thereafter, we came back and sent the memorandum to the CM through ADM,” said Pandey.
In a press note, ABVP alleged that the principal had been promoting corruption by charging money for direct admissions to graduate and post graduate courses.