BHU unrest: UP police files FIR against 1,200 students; govt removes three additional city magistrates, two officers

The Uttar Pradesh police confirmed it filed an FIR against 1,200 students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for arson and other charges in connection with the violence which erupted on the campus on Saturday night, according to media reports.

BHU update: FIR lodged against 1200 unknown students for violating peace and violence.

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A number of students, including women and two journalists, were reportedly injured in a  lathicharge by the police  on the BHU campus where a protest against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent. The UP government has removed three additional city magistrates and two policemen in connection with the baton-charge on students on the BHU campus. Station officer of Lanka police station Rajiv Singh has been removed and sent to police lines. Station officer of Jaitpura police station Sanjiv Mishra has been posted in his place, police officials said. Also the circle officer of Bhelupur, Nivesh Katiyar has been removed and circle officer of Kotwali Ayodhya Prasad Singh has been posted in his place. A release from Varanasi’s district information office said that three additional city magistrates, Manoj Kumar Singh, Sushil Kumar Gaund and Jagdamma Prasad Singh have also been removed. Several female students were reportedly injured when the police allegedly used force to remove protesters from outside the vice-chancellor’s residence on Saturday. More than a dozen students were detained on Sunday by the police, according to a report in India Today. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditynath  on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the violence. Adityanath sought a report from divisional commissioner about the incident as various political parties, including Samajwadi Party, criticised the government and condemned the police action. “I have sought a report from the Divisional Commissioner, Varanasi, about the entire incident,” Adityanath said in Lucknow on Sunday. The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also sought a report on the attack on journalists on the BHU campus. The lathicharge on journalists led to protests in Lucknow with some journalists staging a sit-in near Adityanath’s residence. They later gave a memorandum to the district magistrate demanding action against the guilty. Some policemen were also injured in the clashes, police sources said. The BHU students have been protesting near the university’s main gate since Thursday against rising eve-teasing incidents on the campus. The trigger was an incident in which a woman student of Arts faculty alleged harassment by three men on a motorcycle inside the campus while she was returning to her hostel. The three men abused her and fled when she resisted their attempts, according to the complaint. BHU vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi promised action against those responsible for the violence and said CCTV cameras were being installed on campus. The vice-chancellor blamed “outsiders” for the violence. Follow live updates on BHU here With inputs from agencies.