An employee of the college suffered a bullet injury and four SUVs were set ablaze during the violence. Ambedkar Nagar district falls within Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh.(Representational Image)Four FIRs have been registered in connection with a clash between college students and local BJP MLA Sanju Devi’s brother-in-law Shyam Babu, after the latter allegedly slapped the principal of Mahamaya Medical College in Ambedkar Nagar district Tuesday.
An employee of the college suffered a bullet injury and four SUVs were set ablaze during the violence. Ambedkar Nagar district falls within Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh.
Police said that on Tuesday, Babu was in the medical college for his mother’s treatment and later argued with the college principal and vice-principal over an alleged delay in getting an ambulance to take her to Lucknow.
“At around 10 pm, Babu had an argument with principal P K Singh and vice-principal Pramod Yadav. He allegedly slapped the principal and held them captive inside a room. Soon after the news spread, hundreds of medical students gathered there. Babu and his aides locked themselves inside the room with the principal while the angry students torched four vehicles of Babu’s fleet. Babu allegedly opened fire to disperse the students and a bullet hit a hospital clerk Arvind Kumar on his hand,” said Circle Officer (CO) of Tanda area, Kamal Kant Mishra.
“Several police teams were sent to the campus and the situation was brought under control. The principal and his staff were rescued. The fire was doused. Police force has been deployed on campus,” he added. Police took Babu, who is also his MLA sister-in-law’s representative, and his eight aides to the police station, and released them shortly after.
Additional SP Ashok Kumar Rai said, “Nine persons including Shyam Babu were taken to the police station for questioning in the early hours of Wednesday. All were released later. No arrests have been made so far… dekhein un logo me koi compromise hota hai (let’s see if there can be a compromise),” said Rai.
Meanwhile, four separate FIRs were registered, two each on complaints by the medical college and the MLA’s supporters.
Station Officer (SO) of Aliganj police station Virendra Rai said, “The first FIR lodged is on the complaint of the principal against four named people including Shyam Babu and around a dozen unidentified others for rioting, causing hurt and wrongful detention. Second FIR is on a complaint by college clerk Arvind Kumar, who sustained a gunshot injury, against 12 named persons including Babu for attempt to murder and under sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”
He further said, “The third FIR is by Babu’s nephew Shivam against the principal and vice-principal for attempt to murder, rioting, robbery and intentional insult. The fourth FIR was on a complaint by Babu’s aide, Deepak Kannaujia, against the principal and vice-principal for causing hurt, criminal intimidation and under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Babu claimed he was agitated because of the hospital’s negligence. He alleged that he and his supporters were being targeted because they had been lodging complaints against Ambedkar Nagar SP Vipin Kumar Mishra and raising their voice against “corruption” in the medical college.
“Around 7 pm, I was informed that my mother was not well and needed immediate medical aid. I asked my nephew Shivam Gupta (Devi’s son) to bring her to the medical college. There was still around an hour’s delay in starting her treatment. After the tests, the doctors said she needed to be sent to Lucknow. I told them I will take her in my SUV but the doctors said she needed oxygen all the way and therefore an ambulance was necessary. I waited two hours but there was no ambulance. Later, I was told they cannot give me an ambulance because the driver was not there. This made me angry,” claimed Babu.
“While I was talking to the principal, an argument took place between us. In the meantime, Pramod Yadav (the vice-principal) made a phone call to students and told them that I was misbehaving and holding them captive. Hundreds of students arrived and started searching for us. To escape, we locked ourselves in a room where Singh and Yadav were present. When I asked them what were they doing, they blamed me for the repercussions. The students set four of my SUVs on fire,” he further alleged. The college principal did not respond to calls seeking his comment.
