Tamil Department students of Pondicherry University ended their week-long protests on Thursday after Vice-Chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy announced the formation of a committee to enquire into the alleged torture of one of them.
The students on Thursday staged a sit-in protest outside the V-C’s office, demanding dismissal of the head of the Academic Staff College, S. Hariharan.
Meanwhile, on the university’s request, Superintendent of Police North Praveen Tripathy and Superintendent of Police (Policing of Police) P. Tamilarasi, along with several other officers, arrived on the scene.
Around 2 p.m., the V-C addressed the students and agreed to set up an enquiry committee consisting of a retired Inspector-General of Police, retired Judge and other officials. There would also be a student observer as part of the enquiry. The details of the committee would be posted on the university website soon, she said.
The students, after some argument, finally relented and ended their protests.
It may be recalled that on April 6, one of the students of the Tamil Department, S. Radhakrishnan, was allegedly detained by the security personnel, beaten and forced to confess to having harassed the female students behind the hostel.
The student filed a police complaint against Mr.Hariharan and security officers Bushan Sudhakar, Gunasegaran and Sam Satish for unlawful detention and assault of the student.
The university has also filed cases against 100 students who damaged the car and house of Mr. Hariharan.
The students of the Tamil Department have been protesting since April 10, demanding the dismissal of the faculty and security officers involved in the assault.
“We would like to have either M. Ramadass or J.A.K. Tareen on the committee, but since the V-C was willing to compromise with us, we agreed to the arrangement,” one of the students said.
