BHU: 3 additional magistrates, 2 police officers removed

VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah have spoken to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityananath following a police lathi-charge on BHU students and asked him to redress the issue at the earliest.

"The BHU incident is unfortunate. Any amount of sadness expressed over it is not adequate," Union minister Nitin Gadkari told reporters in the national capital.

He said that Modi and Shah have spoken to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and asked him to redress the issue as soon as possible.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday removed three additional city magistrates and two policemen in connection with the baton-charge on students in the Banaras Hindu University during a protest over an alleged eve-teasing incident.

Station Officer of Lanka Police Station Rajiv Singh has been removed and sent to police lines. Station officer of Jaitpura Police Station Sanjiv Mishra has been posted in his place, police officials said.

Also the Circle Officer of Bhelupur, Nivesh Katiyar has been removed and Circle Officer of Kotwali Ayodhya Prasad Singh posted in his place

A release from Varanasi's District Information office said three additional city magistrates, Manoj Kumar Singh, Sushil Kumar Gaund and Jagdamma Prasad Singh have also been removed.

A number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a lathi-charge by the police in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) where a protest on Saturday night against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent.

The violence erupted after some students, protesting against the incident on Thursday, wanted to meet the varsity's vice chancellor at his residence. Security guards of the university stopped the students and informed the police, according to university sources.

A BHU spokesperson had said that some students wanted to "forcibly" enter the VC's residence but they were stopped by the BHU security guards.

Subsequently, there was stone pelting by "outsiders" who had joined the students, he said.

The police baton charged the students in a bid to disperse them.

Following the violence, the district administration has declared holidays from Monday till October 2 in all colleges and universities in Varanasi. The BHU had earlier announced that the holidays would start from September 28.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sought a report from the divisional commissioner about the incident as various political parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), criticised the government and condemned the police action.

An FIR has been registered against over 1,000 students in connection with the violence in the Banaras Hindu University here and also against policemen involved in the baton-charge on protestors.

Separate FIRs have been registered at the Lanka Police Station in connection with the violence on the campus, the police said on Monday.

Besides the students, an FIR has been filed against unidentified policemen involved in the baton-charge.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Monday said a committee headed by the chief secretary has been constituted to go into the protest in the Banaras Hindu University campus over an alleged eve-teasing incident.