Mumbai: Officers of the Trombay police station visited the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) campus on Monday morning, following an informal complaint by the institute’s registrar that striking students had blockaded the administration building for three days, restricting day-to-day functioning. The TISS administration also alleged that the students held a senior professor hostage in the building until Saturday night and had occupied the registrar’s office.
A statement by TISS said, “The administrative wing of the institute is presently inaccessible to any staff member, hampering the management of the institute. Keeping in mind the continuous disruptive tactics used by the students, an incident report was filed with the police station to inform the authorities on the matter and to prevent loss of documents and damage to property.” The administration said it had taken action so that the authorities were aware of the incident and that it refuted allegations by students that it had lodged a police complaint and was using force to remove them from the administrative wing. The statement said that the effort was to prevent loss of property and ensure smooth functioning of the office and appealed to the students “not to disrupt the normal functioning of the institute and desist from acts of vandalism.”
Fahad Ahmed, general secretary of the student’s union said, “The administration falsely accused us of creating a ruckus in the campus. The officers are free to take any action against us, if they find any damaged property. We believe in a peaceful and democratic way of protesting.” The students — who have been protesting, for over a month, the withdrawal of scholarships for SC and ST students — continue to blockade the building.
“The inquiry is still going on,” Sunil Gaokar, senior police inspector at the Trombay police station, said. “There cannot be any conclusions as of now.”
