Lucknow: The chairperson of National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, said on Friday that the violence at BHU campus was a conspiracy by outsiders.
Speaking to the media in Varanasi, Sharma said that the girls were protesting peacefully but some outsiders and anti-social elements hijacked the protest, and this eventually led to the violence.
“The lathi-charge on girls is condemnable, but the situation went out of hand when outsiders hijacked the protest and started provoking students. Police had to resort to lathi-charge,” she said.
On being asked about her meeting with vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi, she said, “He did not meet me and neither did he answer my call. He will be summoned to Delhi as he did not play his role in controlling the situation.”
Tripathi is under fire for his alleged mishandling of the student protests. He has gone on leave amid indications from top HRD Ministry sources that the central government was upset with the manner in which he handled the entire episode. Tripathi even blamed the girls for dishonouring the university by protesting against harassment.
Sharma further said that a few men are living in the hostel illegally and she has asked the female students to identify and list them. The list will be given to the SSP and action will be taken against the culprits, she said.
“Our team found that there are many cases of harassment on campus,” she said, claiming that it was mostly BHU students involved in such cases.
The security at the campus has been increased, Sharma said. “We have instructed the university administration to increase security outside the Naveen Hostel. CCTV cameras have also been installed in the campus. The SSP has also been asked to deploy extra police force,” she added.
Last month, a number of students, including women and two journalists, were injured in a lathi-charge by the police after students launched a protest against an alleged harassment and university inaction.
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