Banaras Hindu University Chief Proctor Royana Singh on Thursday registered a police complaint against more than 30 students, claiming they had attempted to murder her.
In her first information report, Singh alleged that 40 to 50 students wearing black masks and carrying sticks barged into her office on Wednesday evening and beat her up as well as two other teachers and a security official. They destroyed mirrors and furniture in the office and fled after threatening the officials.
The FIR names Mrityunjay Maurya, Shivangi Choubey, Lal Karan, Mithilesh Kumar, Garima Yadav, Deepak Singh, Rajat Singh, Anup Kumar, Parul Shukla among other students.
However, one student named in the FIR refuted Singh’s version of the events. He said the students were angered because Singh had told a television news channel a few weeks ago that the protests at the university against the sexual harassment of a colleague in September had been “sponsored” by external elements.
“The protests were funded,” the student quoted Singh as saying. “We saw a big car come in and from that water, pizza and Pepsi bottles came. Usually it is not like that. Here when students protest, they usually go hungry for some hours....but these students were being sponsored, they were told ‘you eat and drink, we are with you’.”
He said that this claim had incensed the students who decided to meet Singh to ask her for proof that their protests had been sponsored.
He said that about 20 students went to the chief proctor’s office around 6 pm on Wednesday, and asked her to come out and meet them. However, they were asked to wait. However, they were asked to wait. When she did not come out despite repeated requests, one of the students knocked on the glass door of her office and it accidentally shattered, he said.
Though the student apologised for the broken glass, Singh called the Lanka police station. After the police arrived, Singh spoke to them but still did not hold a discussion with the students, the student claimed. After this, the students left the place.
He also denied the students had covered their faces or that they had been carrying sticks or had broken furniture.
When contacted by Scroll.in, the chief proctor said she would call back later.
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