Six SRFTI students, including two office-bearers of the students’ union, were rusticated on Thursday night on charges of gheraoing, obstructing, intimidating, heckling and abusing the vice-chancellor.
In their respective notices, registrar Deepak Kumar said the students had been rusticated in view of the “gravity of the incident”.
Earlier on Thursday, SRFTI vice-chancellor Santosh Ajmera had accused students of “manhandling” and “abusing” him, warning of strict action against those found guilty.
The allegation was denied by the students’ union, whose members have been boycotting classes for 17 days over alleged attacks by organisations linked to the RSS.
The charge came two days after the union demanded Ajmera’s resignation, accusing him of failing to protect students.
According to a statement issued by the registrar, the incident occurred after department and section heads gathered at the VC’s meeting hall to condemn the alleged vandalism of his office overnight on Wednesday.
“As faculty members and officials were leaving the hall, students gheraoed the VC, raising slogans, using abusive words and ultimately one student manhandling the VC,” the statement said.
The statement alleged that students had attacked the VC’s office, pelting it with stones and shattering windows. It also alleged that students were preventing others from attending classes, forcing some to leave campus.
The students’ union president, Blossom Hazarika, rejected the allegations as “all lies”. In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the union said the charge of manhandling was “fabricated”.
“The students of SRFTI have strictly employed non-violent and peaceful tactics... We have not, and do not, intend to use violence as a tactic in our protest against the VC,” the statement said.
It alleged that police had entered the campus and recorded the names of its president and general secretary (film) in a general diary.
The students’ union statement said the police had recorded the names despite campus security personnel reportedly saying they had neither witnessed nor been informed of any such incident.
The union said its members occupied the first floor of the administration building on Thursday morning after learning that CCTV cameras were being installed. It said Ajmera had assured union members at a September 30 meeting that they would be informed three days in advance of any installation. The union said it had received no such communication.
The class boycott began on September 28, a day after students were allegedly assaulted by supporters of the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat. On October 4, supporters of the Hindu Jagran Manch allegedly tried to storm the campus gate, accusing students of disrespecting images of Swami Vivekananda and Bharat Mata.
“We have been protesting because no offender has been arrested, and students are worried about their safety. The VC does not want to address our concerns and wants us to attend classes. Earlier, he served students with disciplinary notices. Since we were not intimidated, the VC has now accused us of manhandling,” a student said.