Tension over college election, 19 injured police lathicharge

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA, Sept 7: At least 19 students’ sustained injuries when police resorted to lathi charge to disperse supporters belonging to rival organisations in front of MBB College here as tension is mounting over the student’s union election in all the 22 colleges across the state slated to be held on September 20.

The incident took place when a group of students belonging to Triamool Chatra Parishad were in a procession trying to enter the college premises and another group belonging to the Student’s Federation of India (SFI) was approaching to prevent them.

The police stood in between the two groups and asked the TMCP supporters to disperse as they don’t have necessary permission to hold procession. Moreover an examition was going on inside the college. The TMCP defied the order as the SFI supporters are already inside the college and tried to break the police cordon. The tension escalated when the SFI supporters approached to prevent the TMCP supporters. Police gave a fil warning and then resorted to lathi charge to prevent an imminent clash injuring at least 19 students. However, all of them were released from hospital after first aid.

The TMCP leaders alleged that the SP (West) Abhijit Saptarshi and the officer-in-charge of the College Tilla police outpost Sukanta Sen Choudhury beaten them without any provocation. They also rushed to the police headquarter and demonstrated demanding action against the two officers.

Later addressing a press conference Vicky Prasad, general secretary of the TMCP alleged that the college authority and the police have preventing their supporters from entering into the College to prevent an imminent defeat of the SFI in the council election.

He said they have decided to withdraw from the college election and gave a strike call in the MBB College on September 9 to protest against highhandedness of the college authority and the administration.

The trouble started when the rival group supporters went to collect nomition papers from the college office. Vicky alleged that the SFI supporters backed by some outsiders beaten two of their prospective candidates forcing them to leave the college and when they went to register a protest with the principal police, lathi charged on them. However, the SFI general secretary barun Deb said TMCP is trying to create trouble in the campuses as they know none of their candidates will win the election.