PMO intervenes to defuse BHU crisis, varsity proctor resigns over police crackdown

The chief proctor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) resigned on Tuesday, shortly after the prime minister’s office (PMO) intervened to defuse the crisis in the century-old institute in Varanasi over a campus molestation complaint.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were said to have spoken to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath about the campus unrest that threatened to spread to other universities.

The PMO summoned higher education secretary KK Sharma on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

A senior official instructed the human resource development (HRD) ministry to look into the grievances of students and ensure their redressal immediately, sources said.

The PMO also instructed the ministry to take confidence-building steps.

The university is on the edge since Saturday midnight when police cane-charged students protesting against alleged inaction on the complaint. Several students, mostly women, and cops were wounded in the crackdown that was widely criticised.

Proctor ON Singh took moral responsibility for the violence.

The alleged sexual harassment victim, a hosteller at BHU, had lodged the complaint with Singh. She was allegedly molested by men on motorcycles on Thursday.

The students accused the proctor of not taking the complaint seriously. They were more upset when vice chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi blamed the student for staying out late.

Tripathi too is under pressure to resign as a report by the Varanasi divisional commissioner blamed the university administration for the campus violence.

(with inputs from Sudhir Kumar)