12 SC students injured in Nawanshahr cane-charge

Nikhil Bhardwaj

 Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 26

The Punjab Police today allegedly lathi-charged Scheduled Caste (SC) students from three Nawanshahr colleges who had assembled at Baradari Garden and had been seeking their legitimate right to avail of the Centre’s SC Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme from their respective colleges.

This comes close on the heels of two recent incidents of police atrocity, including the detention of a pregnant teacher that led to her miscarriage in Jalandhar on Tuesday and the cane charging of NRHM workers in Lambi yesterday.

More than 12 students, including two girls, sustained serious injuries after the Nawanshahr police cornered the students and resorted to a cane-charge. 

Seven students — Parineema, Shabnam, Jasvir,  Pardeep Singh, Sukhbir, Vikram and Jatinder Singh — sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital, Nawanshahr. 

The protest was being held under the banner of the Punjab Students Union (PSU) against three colleges — KC Group of Institutions, Doaba College and Rayat Institute of Engineering and Information Technology. PSU president Baljit Singh has alleged that while the scholarship scheme exempted SC students from paying the fee, colleges have been forcing students to deposit it.

In case of OBC students, the colleges, after taking the fee at the time of admission, had assured the students that they would not be required to pay any other fee, he said. 

“Now, the colleges are demanding fee from SC/OBC students and are threatening that they would not be enrolled in further semesters till the students clear their previous dues. 

"To protest the move of college managements, we had gathered at Baradari Garden. We had not even initiated a protest march. Suddenly, police teams cornered us and after locking the gate of the garden, brutally cane charged us,” Baljit Singh alleged. 

DC Nawanshahr Ravinder Singh said that he had held a meeting with the student union members and assured them of a magisterial inquiry by SDM Jeevan Jagjot Kaur.

“I regret the incident. I have already sent my teams to all three colleges to settle the issue between the managements and the students," said Ravinder Singh.

SP Headquarters Gagan Ajit Singh denied the lathicharge and said the police had been requesting the union members to wait for the SDM before starting their march, but the students started pushing the policemen. In defence, the police resorted to a mild cane charge, he said.

CEO, KC Institute, Jatinder Singh Bal said norms of the scholarship scheme was being followed in letter and spirit. Director, Rayat Institute, refused to comment while the officials of Doaba College couldn’t be contacted.