Cops crack down on outsiders in Utkal hostel

BHUBANESWAR: The City cops on Sunday launched a massive crackdown on outsiders illegally occupying hostel rooms on Utkal University campus. Over 150 illegal occupants were evicted from hostel 7 of the university by police. Sources said when the cops raided the hostel, they found over 30 rooms locked and several illegal occupants absconding.

University authorities had sought the assistance of Commissionerate Police to oust non-boarders from the hostel. While many former students overstay in the university hostels to prepare for competitive examinations and search for jobs, several outsiders illegally occupy rooms, which are sublet to them by local students for a handsome amount of0 money, to further their political interests.

“Cab drivers, job aspirants and businessmen were staying in the hostel. The locks of illegally occupied rooms were broken and the possession handed over to the university authorities,” Bhubaneswar DCP Anup Sahu told The Express.

The illegal occupants were residing in the hostel by paying rent either on a monthly basis or for the entire year. They were paying up to Rs 15,000 annually to stay in the hostel, Sahu said.

Police said law and order situation has worsened in the university with non-boarders consuming alcohol inside hostel rooms, ragging students and spreading violence on the campus. The regular activities of the university were also hampered by the unrest created by the outsiders and anti-social elements.
Vice-Chancellor of the university SM Patnaik said discussions are on with the police to flush out non-boarders from others hostels on the campus.

Around four platoons of police force were deployed in the university to avoid any untoward incident during the drive to flush out non-boarders from the hostel.

On the day, police also arrested a man, who was providing rooms on rent in the hostel, for his involvement in vandalising Saheed Nagar police station and assaulting cops on March 3. The accused was identified as Lalatendu Mallick.

Police said Mallick was a close associate of suspended BJD leader Prakash Tripathy who was arrested on Saturday for leading a group of anti-socials who went on a rampage inside Saheed Nagar police station.
“Mallick was not studying in the university but was providing rooms on rent in the hostel. He was also involved in the violence inside the police station,” the DCP added. So far, nine persons have been arrested for the violence inside the police station.