Violent clash at AMU campus kills two: Security beefed up, RAF deployed

Aligarh (UP): Two persons were killed in a gun battle between rival groups on the campus of Aligarh Muslim university, forcing authorities to deploy Rapid Action Force and order a "major clean-up" operation in AMU hostels.

The violence left an expelled student dead last midnight while another youth, who was injured in the clash, succumbed to injuries in hospital today, AMU spokesman Rahat Abrar said.

Violence erupted at the AMU campus around midnight on Saturday night following a clash between two regional student groups in which a former student was killed, prompting authorities to step up security and deploy Rapid Action Force.

Trouble started when a resident of Mumtaz hostel was assaulted and his room set afire, DIG Aligarh Range Govind Agarwal, who led the police operations, told PTI on Sunday.

A file photo of Aligarh Muslim University. Image courtesy: IBNLive

The victim rushed to the proctor's office to file his complaint. As soon as news of the incident spread students belonging to the two rival factions gathered and a clash broke out.

Police said that Mehtaab was shot dead late last night near the Proctor's office where the warring groups exchanged fire with each other. The rampaging students set afire a jeep and over half-a-dozen bikes. The mob also indulged in arson and set afire the proctor's office building.

The violence was so widespread that it took the police nearly two hours to defuse the situation at different spots of the campus.

An official of AMU said that trouble between rival groups belonging to Azamgarh and Sambhal regions has been simmering since quite some time now.

Rapid Action Force has been deployed at all sensitive spots especially in view of the entrance test for the engineering college is scheduled today and more than 13,000 candidates are expected to appear from the Aligarh campus centre alone.