Violence erupts again in Benaras Hindu University; five hostels evacuated

Five hostels were evacuated in Banaras Hindu University after students of two hostels clashed with each other on Friday, the second day of the ongoing stalemate between varsity and students who want the earlier form of the students union to be brought back.

A scuffle broke out again today between a group of students of Broacha and Birla hostel in early morning, following which some students among them damaged few vehicles in the varsity campus and went on rampage, police said.

As soon as the information of violence in BHU came to the knowledge of police officials, DIG (Varanasi range), SK Bhagat, DM, Pranjal Yadav, SSP, Jogendra Kumar, and IG, (Varanasi zone) Amrendra Kumar rushed to the spot.

"Nearly 35-40 students of Birla and other hostels of BHU have been detained for interrogation by police today for their alleged suspicious involvement in the violence that took place today as well as yesterday," DIG (Varanasi range) SK Bhagat said on Friday.

"There have been inputs that some outsiders were also staying in these hostels and were inciting violence in the university campus," Bhagat said.

"We have asked students of five hostels of BHU, Birla A, B and C hostel along with Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Lal Bahadur Shastri hostels, to make an indefinite evacuation of their hostel rooms, just as a step taken for a precautionary measure for the time being, so that the prevailing violence in the university may be controlled and no incidents may re-occur," Bhagat said.

An additional police force and PAC jawans have been soon deployed in the BHU campus immediately after the violent incident today, he said, adding that a large number of police force was already deployed there since yesterday.