UP university serves notice to two professors for welcoming ABVP students

Gorakhpur (UP), Aug 9 (IANS) Two female professors from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University have been served a notice by the university registrar for allegedly welcoming eight activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who were reportedly involved in vandalising the Vice-Chancellor’s office and assaulting the registrar on July 21.

Registrar Professor Ajay Singh has confirmed that, in accordance with university regulations, an explanation has been requested from two professors.

University authorities had lodged a complaint against 22 individuals, including student leaders. Following the filing of the First Information Report (FIR), police arrested eight ABVP leaders, who were subsequently jailed.

However, after 11 days, these students were released on bail on August 1.

The two female professors, Uma Srivastava and Sushma Pandey, who hold positions on the central executive committee of ABVP, extended their welcome to these activists.

A video clip of the incident went viral on various social media platforms. After verifying the content of video, the registrar issued a notice to them.

Notably, students had been conducting a protest at the Vice-Chancellor’s office as part of an ongoing agitation in support of their seven-point demands, which include the reversal of the fee hike across various courses. However, the university authorities exhibited an “indifferent” attitude towards the demands.

The situation took a violent turn on July 21 when the Vice-Chancellor disregarded the protesting students. Enraged by this negligence, student leaders engaged in destructive behaviour, physically assaulting both the VC and the registrar.

In another development, in response to a directive from the UGC, the authorities of DDU Gorakhpur University launched a website for reporting cases of sexual harassment on Tuesday.

Additionally, a 10-member committee has been established to address such complaints.