After the administration suspended officials and registered FIRs against 1000 unnamed students following protests after the alleged molestation of a girl on campus, the BHU vice chancellor has said that the issue was created by outsiders and that if they listened to every girl, they would not be able to run the university.
Speaking to The Indian Express in an interview, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi was quoted saying that “this issue was created by outsiders.”
Tripathi is also quoted saying that there was ‘politics’ surrounding the entire controversy that was created by ‘outsiders’ and that the victim had been ‘used for political gains’.
The BHU VC reportedly goes on to say that the incident that happened was not a case of molestation but that of ‘eve-teasing’. He also quoted saying that he ‘feels’ that the episode was created because Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to visit the campus.
“The molestation was done to trigger this fiasco is what I feel,” he is quoted saying.
Tripathi is also said to mention that there were only a handful of girls out of the 10,000 girls on campus that had such complaints and that talks of a campus unsafe for women were ‘rumours’.
The VC further told the newspaper that there was no gender discrimination on campus and that there were rules in place for safety of the girl students. That said, he is later quoted saying: “If we are going to listen to every demand of every girl we won’t be able to run the university.”
Yesterday, three additional city magistrates of Varanasi and two police officers were removed in connection with the lathicharge on students in the Banaras Hindu University and a high-level probe was ordered into the incident that spiralled into a major controversy.
As opposition parties targeted the BJP over the police action on the campus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and asked him to address the issue at the earliest.
An FIR has been filed against unidentified policemen in connection with the lathicharge on Saturday night in which a number of students, including women, were injured, police officials said. At least two journalists were also injured in the police action.
A case has also been registered against over 1,000 students in connection with the violence in the university, they said.
The police action took place on Saturday night after students, agitating against an alleged eve-teasing incident, wanted to meet the Vice Chancellor at his residence.
The police action against the students on the university campus has been criticised by various parties, including the Congress and the Samwajwadi Party.
Samajwadi Party workers held a sit-in in Varanasi and slogans were raised against the prime minister.
Over 200 Samajwadi Party activists were detained while they were going to meet the injured students as well as protestesting students
Social activist Teesta Setalvad also arrived in the city to attend a programme but was detained by the police.
In the aftermath of the violence, the district administration has declared holidays from today till October 2 in all colleges and universities in Varanasi. The BHU had earlier announced that the holidays would start from September 28.
The alleged eve-teasing incident had occurred on last Thursday night after which the students started a protest near the university's main gate.
A woman student of the Arts Faculty was allegedly harassed by three motorcycle-borne men inside the campus while she was returning to her hostel.
According to the complainant, the men abused her and fled when she resisted their attempts.
The woman alleged that security guards, about 100 metres from where the incident happened, did nothing to stop them.
She said her warden, instead of taking up the issue with her superiors, asked her why was she was returning late to the hostel.
The warden's response angered the students who sat on a 'dharna' at the main gate midnight Thursday.
BHU students have alleged they have to face eve-teasers on the campus regularly and the varsity administration was not taking any action to stop the miscreants.
With Agency Inputs
