Mild tension prevailed at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Saturday when some students sat in front of the main gate in protest against the administration removing the tents erected at the north Shopcom area. The tents were removed in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, said the students.
According to a few eyewitnesses, the tents were removed after 2 a.m. on Saturday by the UoH security staff.
“By the time we realised it was done, it was too late. Even upon questioning the personnel who had done it, they outrightly denied that the administration had asked them to remove the tents,” said a Ph.D scholar, unwilling to be identified.
The students had gathered a short while later, and began protesting with the members of the Students Joint Action Committee (JAC).
When contacted, UoH officials said that the tents were removed much later on Saturday morning.
“We had advised the president of the Students Union a week earlier to remove the tents, which were not authorised, in 48 hours. As it was not done, we had to remove it,” said UoH registrar M. Sudharkar.
Rohith bust untouched
However, the ‘Veliwada’ or Dalit ghetto and Rohith Vemula’s bust was not touched.
It may be recalled that in a meeting between the Deans of Schools in March, it was recommended to remove ‘unauthorised structures’ from the Shopcom area. The term ‘unauthorised’, however, was not defined as the area comprises many things like caricatures of Rohith, his bust, the ‘Veliwada’, and other decorations, which came up after the research scholar had committed suicide on January 17.
“We will put back the tents, but not immediately as we don’t know where they were removed and kept. The protests against the Vice-Chancellor will also continue on several fronts. He does not care about academics. And we will expose the financial fraud he is involved in,” alleged JAC member D. Prashanth, who was among the five students who had been suspended from the hostel along with Rohith, before he committed suicide.
Mr. Prashanth claimed that V-C Prof. Appa Rao’s office did not reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application seeking data on the expense incurred for conducting the Academic Council.
