A panel appointed to probe the violence involving residents of Sahara hostel for B.Tech students on the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) campus on October 26 has recommended disciplinary action against 23 students.
There were clashes between Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists and a section of hostel residents. A room was allegedly set on fire amid the tension. The three-member panel recommended the expulsion of six residents for unauthorised stay in the hostel. It also suggested that the mess facility at the hostel need not be open to students who were not residents of the hostel.
The panel said the CCTV system inside the hostel had to be enhanced. Though there was camera in front of the hostel, there was no surveillance along the corridors. The lack of proper monitoring hampered efforts to ascertain the identity of those involved in similar incidents, it said.
The varsity had suffered loss worth ₹2 lakh in the violence. The Kalamassery police had registered cases against 61 persons for their alleged involvement in the clashes. The probe by the panel had been delayed after many students failed to turn up before it.
The SFI had alleged that a combine of Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) and Fraternity Movement was behind the attack, while a group of hostel residents under the label of ‘Sahara Community’ had accused the SFI for initiating violence.
