5,000 protesters smash past police barricades, storm into Panjab University

CHANDIGARH: The Panjab University Senate issue, believed to person been resolved aft the Centre's speedy U-turn connected its plans to restructure the body, erupted connected Monday successful a field turmoil not seen successful decades. What was a students' telephone for a field shutdown to request speedy legislature elections turned into an overwhelming amusement of spot by thousands of protesters of each hues - husbandman organisations, Panthic outfits, societal groups and the All-India Sikh Students Federation . They smashed constabulary barricades and 2 locked gates, clashed with Chandigarh Police and stormed into the field successful organised groups. By afternoon, implicit 5,000 radical were successful the assemblage - including a young Nihang atop a equine holding up a sword arsenic helium rode past the VC's office.

The pupil objection had transformed into a politically driven incursion.Univ disturbance turns into assertion of identity, administrative claim This stopped being astir the legislature today. It became a governmental mobilisation by outer elements. Panjab University should not beryllium utilized arsenic a level for specified governmental agendas. This instauration cannot beryllium turned into a theatre for powerfulness contests from outside. I impulse each groups to respect the world quality of this university," VC Renu Vig said.

PU had declared Monday and Tuesday holidays successful presumption of the shutdown call. PU authorities person already submitted the legislature canvass docket to vice-president C P Radhakrishnan, who is chancellor of the university, for approval, but it did thing to halt the protests. The face-off started astir midnight erstwhile groups of protesters from extracurricular gathered on with students earlier the locked gates and raised slogans.

A tense face-off with constabulary ensued, and Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur intervened to easiness tensions. Before daybreak, Chandigarh constabulary started mounting up barricades astatine the introduction points to surface vehicles coming from Punjab. But groups of protesters did get done and began massing successful beforehand of PU gates wherever 2,000 cops stood guard. Slogans for PU's autonomy were replaced with "Panjab University Punjab Di" and "Chandigarh Punjab Da (PU and Chandigarh beryllium to Punjab)".

And speeches progressively referenced the university's historical nexus to Punjab and the governmental statement astir Chandigarh's control. The senate-centric protestation turned into an assertion of individuality and administrative claim. By assemblage estimates, not much than 500 of those wrong were PU students. SSP Kanwardeep Kaur was contiguous erstwhile constabulary resorted to a little lathicharge and detained respective people. Former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Congress MLA Pargat Singh, Anandpur Sahib AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang, AAP MLA Sukhanand and NSUI Punjab main Isherpreet Sidhu besides joined successful the protest.