Boards with Rajiv’s name smeared at PU

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 27

Miscreants smeared four signboards bearing the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with black ink at Panjab University (PU) today.

It was an important day on the campus as the North Zone Youth Fest started. Teams from 34 universities were present. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal was in the university to inaugurate the fest.

The PU Chief Security Officer, Prof Ashwani Koul, said earlier they got to know only about two signboards near Rajiv Gandhi College Bhawan, where the name of the former Prime Minister was targeted and these were cleaned before the youth fest started. Later, the authorities got to know that two more signboards of Rajiv Gandhi College Bhawan were targeted, one near Boys’ Hostel Number 4 and another near Ankur School.

The police also reached the campus. Soon, activists of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) reached the spot and cleaned the boards with kerosene.

National coordinator of the NSUI Manoj Lubana, who cleaned the signboards, said, “Acts like these are symbolic of cowardice and are definitely in pursuance of a political agenda. Proper investigations should be carried out and the miscreants brought to book so that acts like these don’t happen again.”

NSUI leader Anuj Singh said such incidents had maligned the image of the university at a time when the youth fest was on.

Earlier on October 19, Hindi text on a signboard outside gate number 1 and the address displayed on concrete slabs put up in the lane outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office at the PU were smeared with black ink. At that time, no complaint was submitted to the police.

However, this time, the Chief Security Officer said they would submit a complaint. “We will ensure that police investigation is conducted into the incident,” said Lubana.

“I condemn the incident in the strongest words. It is not tolerable. Today, we were concentrating on our youth fest, but unfortunately this has happened. closed-circuit television cameras are not possible everywhere though we have over 250 cameras. We are looking at the footage to get a clue and will inform the police. This may have been done to sabotage our function,” said Professor Koul. 

Case registered

A case under the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, has been registered against unidentified person at the Sector 11 police station in this regard. 

The police said there were no closed-circuit television  cameras installed near the spot which could help identify the miscreants. 

Recent incidents

• Youth Akali Dal leaders Gurdeep Singh Gosha and Meetpal Dugri blackened the statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Salem Tabri, Ludhiana, on December 25. The duo shot a video of their act and spread it on social media. They sprayed black colour on the face of the statue and red on the hands.
• On December 26, Sikh protesters demanded renaming of Rajiv Chowk in New Delhi, previously known as Connaught Place, after Shaheed Bhagat Singh and defaced a “Rajiv Chowk” signboard. They garlanded the signboard with shoes and slippers and splashed black paint on it.