J&K BJP State Spokesperson, Prof. Virender Gupta, strongly condemned the misconceived action of lodging FIR against the non-local students of NIT, Srinagar, under sections 148 (rioting), 14 (unlawful assembly), that was within the campus, 427 (mischief), 336 (endangering life of others), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 353 (assault of public servant) of the Ranbir Panel Code. He said that the state police, deployed in the institution that committed heinous crime by executing unprovoked brutal lathi-charge and tear-gas shells on the students, not sparing the girls and those in the hostels, thus inflicting serious injuries on some of them, is trying to pre-empt the enquiry constituted by the state authorities against the police action in the campus.
“What action has the state police, posted in the campus, initiated against the locals who raised anti India, Pro-Pak and Pro-Azadi slogans and who were threatening the non-locals, in particular the girls students” Prof. Virender asked and he demanded an impartial Judicial enquiry into the whole episode.
Prof Virender Gupta strongly criticised Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement of objecting to the deployment of central forces inside the NIT campus, bringing special teams from HRD and taking things out of proportions. He charged Omar of playing negative and destructive politics, after being out of power in the state. He added that the statement shows his insensitiveness to the gravity of the situation that emerged in NIT Srinagar campus. He added that NIT is a central institution, completely funded by the Government of India, therefore, it is the ultimate responsibility of the HRD to ensure the smooth functioning of the Institute. He added that, to restore the confidence of the non-local students about their security and to defuse the situation prevailing, the decision of deployment of central forces inside the campus was a wise step on the part of the Government, in particular looking at the conditions prevailing in the Valley.
