Lucknow, New Delhi: An inquiry has been ordered into the violence in Banaras Hindu University last week, the vice-chancellor and the Uttar Pradesh government said on Tuesday.
Several students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a lathi-charge by police inside the university during a protest following a woman student’s complaint that she was harassed.
While BHU Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi said he had ordered an inquiry headed by a retired high court judge, state government spokesperson and minister Srikant Sharma maintained it was a magisterial probe. It was not clear whether there was one inquiry or two.
“I have ordered an inquiry into the incident. Retired Allahabad High Court judge B S Dixit will head the panel,” Tripathi told PTI in the national capital.
However, Sharma said, “The BHU authorities have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incidents.”
Earlier, speaking to mediapersons after a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, he had said a “judicial inquiry” had been ordered. “By mistake, I had said earlier that it will be a judicial inquiry. It is in fact a magisterial inquiry,” Sharma clarified later. He also said the government had on its part ordered a separate probe by the Varanasi commissioner and the ADG (additional director general) police. Tripathi, who was in the national capital on Tuesday for the university’s executive council meeting, said the violence was fanned by “rumour mongering” and “outsiders”.
He claimed the council’s meeting was scheduled long back and the violence did not figure on its agenda.
He also brushed aside allegations of gender bias in the central university, suggesting the perception may have to do with the fact that authorities were “more concerned” about the security of women than men.
