Guilty will not be spared: Siddharth Nath Singh on BHU violence

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh on Monday said that the government has sought a report in connection with the incident of lathicharge on students of Varanasi's Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

"We have sought a high level report on it," Singh told media.

The UP Minister further added that severe actions will be taken against the miscreants once the reports come.

"I'll also state that no one can take laws into his/her own hands and if need be, we will take the severest action," Singh further added.

Earlier in the day, a Station House Officer (SHO) of Lanka area, Circle Officer (CO) of Bhelupur and one Additional City Magistrate (ACM) were removed after held prima facie responsible for imposing lathicharge at BHU.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday lathi-charged the BHU students, who were protesting for three days against alleged molestation of a University girl.

It has been reported that the protesting students took to violence on Saturday when they were stopped by the deployed security forces from entering the residence of the Vice Chancellor; it is then when the security forces resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them.

"There are chances that outsiders might have come and used the matter within the university (to create violence)," Varansi Divisional Commissioner Nitin Ramesh Gokarn told ANI on Sunday.

The students alleged that the police thrashed them and dragged them through hair, but DM Varanasi, who was present on the spot, denied all such claims.

The ongoing protesters outside the BHU campus triggered when a first-year female student of BHU alleged that she was molested by three bike-borne men outside the campus on Thursday.

The victim in the matter has claimed that she went to the university administration to complain about the incident but the administration in lieu of taking any action against the molesters, shamed the victim for her awkward hostel timings.

Angered over the laid back attitude of the administration and lack of action from their side, the students staged protests outside the campus on Friday and blocked entry to the campus through the main gate.