Utkal students gherao VC over poll demand

BHUBANESWAR: A GROUP of students of Utkal University gheraoed the Vice-Chancellor’s office on Monday demanding students’ union election to be conducted. The incident took place soon after the university reopened after 21 days of sine die due to campus violence in the run up to the election last month.

The agitating students, holding allegiance to a political party, said calling off the students’ union election was unwarranted and urged VC SM Patnaik to notify elections again. Later in the day, a meeting was held among the VC, students and PG Council Chairman where it was decided that opinions will be sought at three levels before any decision is taken in this regard.
The VC informed that legal opinion will be sought on possibility of holding the election again after being cancelled once due to campus violence. “The existing provisions under Lyngdoh Commission do not allow holding of any election after it has been cancelled. However, we would seek a legal opinion on the matter following students’ persuasion,” he said.

The university will also seek permission from the State Government as it had notified the election and the Police Commissionerate, which has to assess the law and order situation in the campus. If the university gets a go-ahead at all the three levels, the authorities will hold a meeting of all the candidates who had filed nominations for the elections and ask them if they are interested in participating in the elections, said the PG Council Chairman, Brahmananda Satpathy.

Prior to the election on September 23, some miscreants had hurled a crude bomb near a hostel on the university campus. The miscreants fled after hurling the bomb, apparently after a scuffle between two groups of students. Though no one was injured, as a precautionary measure, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed and security tightened. Subsequently, the election was called off and university closed sine die.

The BJP's student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Biju Chhatra Janata Dal and Congress-backed NSUI have been blaming each other for widespread violence and cancellation of elections at Utkal University and several colleges.

Sources said chances of holding the election are remote as this would trigger similar demands from students of other colleges where the process was also cancelled due to campus violence.
Meanwhile, the PG Council has notified that mid-semester examinations in all the departments will begin from October 25.

On Sunday, the Commissionerate Police had asked the university authorities to instal more CCTVs, allow entry of students carrying identity cards and repair the damaged boundary walls to prevent entry of outsiders into the campus. There are 12 CCTVs in the campus at present.

Campus violence

Prior to student union election on Sept  23 some miscreants had hurled a crude bomb near a hostel in the University campus
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC were imposed and security tightened
Subsequently, the election was called off and university closed sine die