Seven including a police personnel sustained injuries when clashes broke out between two groups of students at the main entrance of Manipur University today, turning the institution into a battleground.
Reports said the clashes broke out when a group of volunteers allegedly belonging to the Democratic Students Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) tried to enter the campus, an attempt strongly opposed by another group of students.
In the clash that included stone pelting six students and a police personnel sustained injuries. Police had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the warring groups of students.
Following the incident Manipur University students unanimously resolved to boycott DESAM and demanded resignation of Vice-Chancellor in-charge Prof M Dhaneshwor.
Today’s incident came a day after the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Prof Adya Prasad Pandey left Imphal yesterday after handing over the charge to Prof M Dhaneshwor.
Before leaving Imphal the VC reportedly assigned Prof M Dhaneshwor as VC in charge for an interim period and also directed him to continue with the PG admissions with 31% seat reservation for Scheduled Tribe students.
In the afternoon volunteers of DESAM were denied entry into MU campus by the MU students on the reason that a decision was unanimously taken that until the situation in regard with the admission for post graduate courses becomes normal, any function and event or entertainment programmes should be held in the MU campus.
When the DESAM volunteers broke through the MU main gate, security forces dispersed the students firing some tear gas shells. Angered students then started stone pelting towards the security personnel injuring an escort of Singjamei OC indentified as Yaikhom Surjit Singh, aged 38.
Sources said, his upper jaw is seriously injured with one broken teeth and had seven stitches on his upper lips. It is also said that six to seven students from MU have also received injuries in the violence.
A MU student leader Romen Soibamcha told reporters that it was very unfortunate that DESAM volunteers in collusion with Prof M Dhaneshwor acted against the larger interest of the Manipur University students.
He said that today DESAM was said to be conducting an introduction programme with the students from Manipur University but the programme they were about to conduct turned out to be ‘Reception Ceremony for the newly elected office bearers of Higher Secondary Schools and College Students’ Union for the academic session of 2016-17 at Centenary Hall, Manipur University.
Romen mentioned that conducting such programme by outsiders that too during such a tense situation was unacceptable. He said that the concerned authority of the Manipur University including VC in-charge who permitted the conduct of such function should be held responsible for today’s unfortunate incident.
MU Students burnt the backdrop of the function that DESAM was supposed to conduct before the media.
Source: Imphal Free Press
