Lucknow University reopens next week after violence

Lucknow: The Lucknow University which closed after some teachers were attacked on Wednesday will reopen on July 10, its website said yesterday as the Allahabad High Court pulled up the police for not acting swiftly.

Lucknow University was closed till further orders after some expelled students, holding a protest on the campus over the alleged denial of admission, assaulted about a dozen teachers.The stalled admission process and the classes will now begin again on Tuesday, and the time tables uploaded on the site before that day.

The university website yesterday displayed the new counselling schedule for admissions.

Earlier in the day, the Allahabad High Court criticised Uttar Pradesh Police for not responding promptly to the complaint by the university authorities on vandalism on the campus.

The Lucknow bench of the high court expressed its indignation when the director general of police, Lucknow's senior superintendent of police, LU vice chancellor and its registrar and proctor appeared before it.

The court had taken suo motu cognizance of the violence and issued summons to them on Thursday.

The bench of justices Vikram Nath and Rajesh Singh directed the police to file an affidavit on the action taken by them.

The matter will be heard next on July 16.

The court also asked the university to give suggestions on how to control hooliganism on the campus.After the court's observations, the teachers' union has demanded the transfer of Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar within the next 24 hours.

They also wanted a



full-fledged police station to be set up on the campus, saying the outpost located there should be closed down as it was of no use.

UP police chief O P Singh had handed over the probe into the violence to Lucknow Range IGP, transferred a police officer and suspended the outpost in-charge.

Questioning the role of the local police, the bench had yesterday said, "It is unfortunate and extremely painful that students have the courage, audacity and boldness to enter the premises from where they have been expelled and create physical violence and attack the vice chancellor, teachers and staff of the university." 

The bench, quoting newspaper reports, said the police were informed about the likelihood of the expelled students creating a ruckus. But they did not take appropriate measures, it had said.

The protesters had alleged that they were denied admission to postgraduate courses because they had taken part in an agitation last year against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

They had allegedly obstructed Adityanath's convoy in June last year and waved black flags, opposing his visit to the campus.

The police had then arrested 11 students.

When asked about the row over admissions, the VC had said, "There are laid-down procedures for admission to the university. Norms cannot be flouted." 

Meanwhile, the police arrested two students -- Ashish Singh Boxer and Ankit Singh -- yesterday and produced them before a magistrate court which rejected their bail pleas and sent them to judicial custody yesterday.