50 students, SDM injured
Protesters lathi-charged
From Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

ROPAR, Dec 18 — At least 50 students, including girls, were injured in a lathi charge here today while one of them was allegedly hit by a pellet. The police burst tear gas shells to disperse the students and arrested a large number of them. The local SDM, Amarjit Singh Shahi, was also injured in the stone-throwing.

The trouble started when students from various District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) spread all over the state started a march towards Gurdwara Bhatha Sahib here to meet Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was attending a Shaheedi Jor Mela congregation there. The students were opposing the appointments of ‘sikhiya karmis’ (tutors) in government primary schools and soliciting appointments for over 1700 ETT students.

Mr Jagmohan Singh, a student from Nabha DIET, who is under treatment at the local civil hospital after being hit by a “bullet-like thing” told mediapersons that when the students started their march to meet the Chief Minister, the police blocked their way. At this, the students sat on the Ropar-Chandigarh road, about half-a-kilometre from Gurdwara Bhatha Sahib and held a rally. More than 1500 students from all DIETs in the state participated.

He alleged that while the rally was on without any provocation the police started a lathi charge at girl students leading the march and injured many of them. At this the students began to throw stones at the policemen who started bursting tear gas shells. He also alleged that policemen standing behind trucks opened fire at the students and a pellet hit him in the leg.

Girl students from Jagraon alleged they were mercilessly beaten. They said the police also dragged students out of buses in which they had come here, and took buses to an unknown places. So now they had no means of transport back. They said the police conducted a second lathi charge on students leaving the rally venue, gheraoed them and beat them up.