Manipur university: Students, teachers protest VC remarks;

Students and teachers of the Manipur University Monday hit out at Acting Vice Chancellor K Yugindro for his remarks comparing agitators to terrorists even as a five-day economic blockade in the state called by tribal students bodies from Tuesday was "suspended" after talks with the government.

Students had staged a sit-in protest Monday protesting against the acting VC's remarks, M Dayamand, president of Manipur University Students Union, said.

Professor I Tomba, an office bearer of the Manipur University Teachers Association (MUTA), said its members would not cooperate with Yugindro for his use of words like "terrorist-like agitators" in his October 3 letter addressed to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

"I would like to request the Centre to do the needful immediately in order to save the university from the hands of terrorists like agitators...," Yugindro had said in his letter.

Tomba said the teachers would go for a mass casual leave on October 10 to protest the delay in releasing the arrested teachers and students as well as withdrawal of the FIR, based on a complaint by Yugindro, against some of them.

The FIR was lodged on September 20 which followed a midnight raid by security forces led to the arrest of 89 students and teachers.

Of them, the police had released all but 15, whose names were in the FIR for "wrongful confinement, illegal detention and attempt to murder" when he assumed charge as the acting VC on September 20.

The economic blockade called by three prominent tribal students bodies was suspended following talks with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Chief Secretary J Suresh Babu, All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) leader Micah told PTI.

The ATSUM, the Kuki Students Organisation and the All Naga Students Association Manipur had proposed to observe the blockade on national highways of Manipur.

Micah said they have placed two demands -- restoration of normalcy in the Manipur University and upgradation of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (Regional Campus) into a full-fledged of a central university.

The organisations had alleged that the government failed to resolve the crisis in the university.

The university has been on the boil for several months. After a 85-day strike by students, it had opened on August 23. The agitators had been demanding removal of the then vice chancellor A P Pandey for alleged administrative and financial lapses.

President Ram Nath Kovind, in his capacity as the Visitor of the university, recently placed Pandey under suspension as an inquiry was underway into the allegations of irregularities against him.

Yugindro was appointed as the acting VC soon after Pandey's suspension.