Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah has spoken to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the violence in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) on Saturday. Addressing a press conference during BJP national executive in Delhi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the two leaders talked to the Chief Minister who is attending the meeting at Talkatora Stadium.
"The Prime Minister and the party chief have spoken to the Chief Minister. The incident is unfortunate. We express our pain. The state government will find a solution," the BJP leader said.
He said the party was committed to ensuring dignity and respect of women and any opinion should not be formed on the basis of any isolated incident.
Gadkari, the Road and Transport Minister, told reporters here that an inquiry is being conducted into the incident.
Adityanath has already ordered the Varanasi Divisional Commissioner to probe the incident.
The Congress has questioned Modi’s silence on the BHU violence where girl students were thrashed by the police as they protested against the molestation of a fellow student. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari on Monday said while Modi is vocal on almost all issues, his silence over the violence on girls in his own parliamentary constituency Varanasi is questionable.
A number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police in the BHU where a protest on Saturday night against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent.
The state government today removed three senior officials, holding them as prima facie for lathicharge. The three police officials removed for failing to handle the violence include Station Officer (SO) Lanka, CO Bhelupur and one Additional City Magistrate (ACM).
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik today said a committee headed by the chief secretary has been constituted to go into the details of the incident.
"A committee has been constituted under the chief secretary. Necessary action will be taken on the basis of its report. The committee will see as to how the police had behaved and examine other aspects," he said while responding to queries from mediapersons here about the incident.
The governor described the incident as sad.
In the wake of the violence, the university has advanced the puja holidays from tomorrow till October 2. Earlier, the holidays were to have started from September 28.
Violence erupted after some students, protesting against the alleged eve-teasing incident of Thursday, wanted to meet the Vice Chancellor at his residence on Saturday night, according to police and university sources.
At least two journalists covering the protests were also injured in the lathicharge. The police action led to protests in Lucknow with some journalists staging a sit-in near the CM's residence yesterday. They later gave a memorandum to the District Magistrate demanding action against the guilty.
A BHU spokesperson said some students wanted to "forcibly" enter the VC's residence but they were stopped by the security guards of the university.
Subsequently, there was stone pelting by "outsiders" who had joined the students.
Police then used batons to control the situation.
(With agencies)
