The protesting postgraduate students of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism in Mangalore University have threatened to intensify their agitation.
A majority of the students have been boycotting classes and staging a dharna on the campus demanding action against lecturer M.P. Umeshchandra who they claim has been harassing them. Student representatives told presspersons here on Friday that the university had failed to intervene effectively though they had complained to various authorities on the issue. They said that the university authorities, who had promised to take up the matter at the Syndicate meeting on Saturday, should take concrete steps to end the “harassment”. Otherwise, the students would be forced to resort to relay hunger strike.
Alleged
The Karnataka Dalit Sangarsha Samiti (Ambedkar Vada) has alleged that the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is provoking the postgraduate journalism students of Mangalore University to stage protests against a lecturer of the department.
In a release issued on Thursday, district convener of the samiti S.P. Anand alleged that there was a conspiracy by the administration of the university against the teacher.
The release said that if the agitating students did not withdraw their dharna, the samiti would launch an agitation on the campus.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Dalit Vidyarthi Okkoota (Ambedkar Vada), in a letter to the Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada on Friday, said that it would launch an agitation if the students did not withdraw their protest.
