NSUI activists lathicharged, 18 detained in Jaipur during protest for student body elections

Jaipur: NSUI activists were lathicharged and 18 were detained by the police here on Thursday while staging protests demanding student union elections in Rajasthan, the police said.

Two students suffered minor injuries as they clashed with the police personnel who tried to stop them from marching towards the state assembly, they added.

The National Students' Union of India (NSUI), student wing of the Congress, condemned the police action on its activists, saying they were protesting democratically and will continue to demand student body elections as it is their right.

According to the police, the student activists began their demonstration outside the Rajasthan University and were starting to march towards the state assembly to raise their demands but were stopped due to the ongoing assembly session.

"Students wanted to march towards the assembly and were protesting outside the university demanding student union elections. When the police stopped them, they scuffled with the police," Gandhinagar SHO Udaibhan said.

He said two students suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.

To disperse the students gathered outside the university, the police took them away in a police vehicle and left them at a distance while 18 students were detained, the SHO said.

Criticising the police action, NSUI national spokesperson Ramesh Bhati said, "Scuffle with the students who were protesting peacefully shows the cowardice of the government. Our unit president's hand is also broken and many colleagues have suffered serious injuries on their heads and bodies."

Bhati said the body will continue to raise demands for student union elections in the state.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot also said the use of force by the police on the protesting students was "highly condemnable".

"The state government should explain why it is backing out from holding student union elections. This is beyond comprehension. It is unfortunate to suppress the legitimate demands of the students by showing the fear of police and administration," Gehlot said on X.

"Many student leaders of NSUI have suffered serious injuries in this use of force. I wish for their speedy recovery," he added.