Angry over fee hike, Panjab University students clash with police, arrested

Things turned ugly at Panjab University (PU) on Tuesday as the protest against fee hike witnessed police using tear gas and students replying with stone-pelting.

At least 15 policemen and some students had to get medical help; some were still in hospitals and said to be in a stable state. More than 50 were taken into custody.

The fee hike for the 2017-18 session - purportedly necessitated by a financial crunch at PU - meant some courses saw an increase of up to 1,000%. The Union ministry for human resource development (MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have been pressing PU to increase income from internal resources if grants



are needed.

On Tuesday, students' parties except the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had called for strike. The ABVP is protesting separately and their hunger strike entered its tenth day on Tuesday.

 

Students moving out of classes to join the protest at PU. 

Right from 9 am, members of Students for Society (SFS), which is a leftist union, was moving from department to department asking students to join the protest. Around 10.30, hundreds of students gathered outside the vice-chancellor's office and started sloganeering against V-C Arun Kumar Grover, the MHRD and UGC, and the Modi government.