One killed in Aligarh varsity violence, VC meets agitators

One person was shot dead and at least a dozen others were injured when two groups of students clashed in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus here, police said on Sunday. The vice chancellor met the agitating students and tried to pacify them so that there is no further disturbance on the campus.

A dozen students were injured in the violence that began on Saturday night and continued into early Sunday. Police sources said one student was seriously wounded and taken to a Delhi hospital for treatment.

"An altercation between two groups in the morning of April 23 resulted in several incidents of firing near the proctor's office, where the groups had assembled to get their respective FIRs lodged with the police," a university official told IANS.

"Later, some more incidents of firing were reported in which one ex-student, Mahtab, was wounded and who subsequently succumbed to his injuries. Another youth, Waqif, who is not a student of AMU, received serious injuries and was later shifted to Delhi for treatment."

University property, including vehicles, was set on fire, a police officer said. The proctor's office was partially burnt.

The trouble began when an unidentified person fired at a student from Moradabad near Mumtaz hostel, some students said. Two people suffered bullet wounds, of whom one died later. The injured student was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi.

Officials said the room of a student, Mohsin, at Mumtaz hostel was set on fire.

A group of students then went to the proctor's office to lodge a complaint. The student said some outsiders barged into his room and also beat him up.

This triggered violent clashes which continued through the night.

The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police reinforcements were deployed in the campus. University authorities said on Sunday that the situation was now under control.

"I think the cause of the clash is regionalism," said one university official.

On Sunday, vice chancellor Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) met the agitating students and tried to pacify them so that there was no further disturbance on the campus.

Admission tests for B.Tech and B.Arch were conducted smoothly on Sunday at 39 examination centres. More than 17,000 candidates appeared for the tests.

The vice chancellor, pro vice chancellor and other university officials visited the test centres in Aligarh and expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conduct of the tests.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Govind Agrawal, District Magistrate Balkar Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police J. Ravindra Gaur and other officials met the vice chancellor and assured him about providing all necessary assistance to maintain peace on the campus.

"The disturbing incident of firing and arson on the AMU campus by two groups of primarily ex-students is regrettable. This disorder was the result of old rivalry between the two groups. Groupism requires strong action to counter and this process has commenced," Shah said.

--IANS

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