29, including four BBAU students, booked for clash

A few hours after a clash erupted between a group of students and security personnel over loud DJ music during the Ram Navami celebration at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Ashiyana police booked four students and 25 unidentified individuals for their alleged involvement in the incident.

The individuals named in the FIR include Ashwini Kumar, Vikas Kumar, Rahul Kumar, and Alok Kumar Rao, belonging to various departments of BBAU, along with 25 unidentified who were part of the clash.

They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 147 (rioting), 148 (armed with a weapon), 352 (assault), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

The complainant, Dharmendra Singh, the area manager of Messers Security and Intelligence Services, in the police FIR, stated that their company has been providing security services at the BBAU campus for the past six years.

According to Singh, on

Wednesday evening, four students, accompanied by 25 others whose identities remain unknown, were heading towards the vice chancellor’s office for a protest. Singh alleged that the group was armed with sticks, stones, and other weapons as they aggressively advanced towards the VC office.

When security personnel attempted to intervene and defuse the situation, the students reportedly attacked them, resulting in injuries. Additionally, the complainant asserted that the students hurled casteist remarks and injured one of the outsourced workers of the university.

An eyewitness, however, said that the clash stemmed from a dispute between Dalit students and a right-wing students’ group over playing loud DJ music during the Ram Navami celebration. Allegations were made by a group of students claiming that security personnel had assaulted Dalit students for objecting to the unauthorised DJ music on campus. Subsequently, the students proceeded to gherao the VC’s residence.