Students to hold dharna today

PATIALA, Dec 14: The agitating students of various colleges affiliated to Punjabi University Patiala will organise a dharna tomorrow in f...

PATIALA, Dec 14: The agitating students of various colleges affiliated to Punjabi University Patiala will organise a dharna tomorrow in front of office of the Vice-chancellor against the fee hike ordered recently by the university authorities.

Giving this information here today, Convener of the Joint Action Committee of Students Surinder Ghumana said the students would sit in a dharna and later present a memorandum to the Vice-chancellor, demanding immediate withdrawal of fee hike. Ghumana has also condemned the alleged anti-students attitude adopted by the district authorities "who are trying to suppress the agitation".

Ghumana alleged the police was conducting raids on the houses of student leaders to round them up and was harassing the families of student leaders in the process. He also demanded immediate withdrawal of false cases against students leader Raminder Popi and his release.

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Meanwhile, in a separate statement, General Secretary of Punjab Students Union (PSU) Rupinder Singh condemned the "anti-students attitude" of the police and students being lathi-charged twice. He said the police was trying to terrify the students. He threatened the university authorities that if they failed to mend their ways, the entire responsibility of intensification of agitation in future would lie with them. He appealed to the university authorities to take a timely decision regarding the withdrawal of the fee hike.

On behalf of the SSP, Superintendent of Police (City) Gurpreet Singh Gill denied the allegations regarding the police raids. But when questioned about tomorrow’s dharna and police preparedness to handle the situation, he said the police had only taken preventive measures and students were allowed to hold the dharna and present a memorandum too. He also said the police will not allow anybody to disturb the peace of the area.