ABVP, NSUI students clash at COEP ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event

Pune police have registered a case against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers following a clash with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP at a university hostel campus ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhirsquos Chhatron Ki Goonj event in the cityThe case was registered on Saturday based on a complaint filed by an ABVP member following the confrontation at the College of Engineering Pune COEP hostel campus on Friday Police deployed additional personnel in the area after members of the ABVP and the National Studentsrsquo Union of India NSUI clashedABVP complaint leads to FIRAccording to a police official the FIR names around 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers They have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS including sections relating to voluntarily causing hurt unlawful assembly and criminal intimidation along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police ActThe complaint alleges that Congress workers were pressuring female students at the institute to register for the Chhatron Ki Goonj programme It further alleges that one of the students was being pressured to record a video statementAccording to the complaint ABVP members went to the hostel after learning about the matter and sought to inquire into the situation The complainant alleged that the Congress workers subsequently verbally abused and assaulted members of the student organisationPolice have registered the case and are investigating the allegations made in the complaintCongress ABVP make competing claimsThe incident has led to competing claims from the two sidesSenior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar who visited the hostel after the confrontation alleged that ABVP workers had threatened the two female students involved in the matterMeanwhile Akshay Jain president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress Media Department described the incident as ldquoextremely unfortunaterdquoJain said the two female students had raised concerns related to their scholarship issues and had expressed support for the Chhatron Ki Goonj eventThe allegations from both sides are now being examined as part of the police investigationSecurity tightened ahead of Rahul Gandhi eventThe clash took place ahead of Rahul Gandhirsquos scheduled Chhatron Ki Goonj programme in Pune prompting police to maintain a strong presence at the COEP hostel campusAuthorities are investigating the events that led to the confrontation and the allegations made by the ABVP member in the FIRThe police action comes amid heightened attention around the student event and the involvement of members of both student and political organisations Further action will depend on the findings of the investigation and evidence gathered by the policeABVP NSUI students clash at COEP ahead of Rahul Gandhirsquos lsquoChhatron Ki Goonjrsquo eventABVP NSUI students clash at COEP ahead of Rahul Gandhirsquos lsquoChhatron Ki Goonjrsquo event in PuneArchana DahiwalTensions escalated at the College of Engineering Pune COEP hostel campus on Friday after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP and the National Studentsrsquo Union of India NSUI were involved in a confrontation a day before Congress leader Rahul Gandhirsquos scheduled interaction with students under the lsquoChhatron Ki Goonjrsquo programmePolice register case against NSUI membersThe Shivaji Nagar police have registered a case against several NSUI students including Pushkar Abanave Bhushan Ranabhare Akshay Jain Saurabh Amrale Sagar Dhadve and Prathamesh Abanave along with around 50 to 60 other NSUI membersThe case has been registered under Sections 1152 1891 1892 1912 3511 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS as well as Sections 373 and 135 of the Maharashtra Police ActThe complaint was lodged by 19yearold ABVP activist Malhar Patil a resident of Aundh at the Shivaji Nagar police stationCongress youth leader Akshay Jain said the complaint had been filed only by the ABVP side ldquoThe FIR has been registered from their side We have not filed any complaint and the police have also not taken suo motu action against the other grouprdquo he saidDispute began over video circulated on social mediaThe confrontation reportedly followed a dispute over a video circulated on social media in which a COEP student alleged that NSUI volunteers had pressured students to attend the Congress programme scheduled for SaturdayAccording to Jain who heads the media department of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress NSUI volunteers had gone to the campus to inform students about the event and met the student who appeared in the videoJain claimed that the student had raised the issue of a pending scholarship and said she would attend the programme if the matter was taken up He further alleged that the ABVP subsequently pressured her into recording another video claiming that NSUI had forced students to attend the eventABVP disputes Congress versionABVP members however have disputed the Congress version of events They alleged that the studentrsquos initial video had exposed the Congress and claimed that a large group of NSUI members subsequently arrived at the COEP campus and assaulted herThe dispute intensified after the student appeared in another video in which she said she had been manipulated and pressured and apologised to the college over her earlier remarks concerning high fees The same video has become a major point of contention between the two student organisationsYouth Congress alleges student was threatenedCongress leaders have alleged that the student was subsequently threatened and confined herself to her room They claimed that Youth Congress workers reached the campus after learning about the alleged incident following which the confrontation between the two groups took placeThe Maharashtra Youth Congress also alleged that the student had earlier given a media statement in support of Rahul Gandhi but was later pressured by ABVP membersldquoShe was tortured and pressured and subsequently locked herself in her room Youth Congress workers reached the campus to protest following which clashes broke outrdquo the organisation allegedSenior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also alleged that ABVP workers had threatened two female studentsPolice deployed at COEP campusFollowing the clash police personnel were deployed in substantial numbers at the COEP campus to prevent any further escalation Both groups have levelled allegations against each other over attempts to influence students ahead of Saturdayrsquos programmeRahul Gandhi is scheduled to interact with students at COEP on Saturday evening as part of the lsquoChhatron Ki Goonjrsquo programme