AMU to be evacuated, says UP police chief after violence at campus

india

Updated: Aug 06, 2020 09:26 IST

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will be evacuated as a precautionary measure after clashes between students and the police on Sunday night, Uttar Pradesh’s police chief OP Singh said on Monday.

Director general of police OP Singh’s direction came after he held a meeting with other top officials over the law and order situation. A senior police official, privy to the development, said directions have been issued to police in Aligarh to contain the situation.

Violence erupted in AMU after students decided to move out of the campus against the police crackdown in Delhi’s Jamia Millia University.

The students have alleged police resorted to a lathi-charge and pushed them back into the university campus by using water cannons and tear gas shells. A few students were also detained after police personnel entered the campus.

Officials, however, denied students were charged with batons and said police acted to check an unruly mob moving out of the AMU campus.

As the situation deteriorated, authorities at AMU ordered the closure of the university till January 5 and deferred all examinations.

AMU’s spokesperson Shafey Kidwai said arrangements are being made for students to go back home after the university was closed for winter vacation.

“There were anti-social elements who mingled with our students and created ruckus last night and thus police was called for to weed out these anti-social elements. The situation is now under control,” Kidwai said.

He, however, denied information about police orders to get the hostels vacated but said that once the university is closed for the winter vacation, the students will leave.

Six districts of the state—Aligarh, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Meerut, Bareilly and Lucknow— have been put on alert apprehending law and order trouble.

A police official said an alert was also issued in Lucknow after a group of students of Darul-Uloom Nadwatul Ulama also protested late on Sunday.

He said a police team is deployed near the campus in Lucknow’s Hasanganj to avert any further trouble.