Going by what happened to a professor overseeing the students' union polls in a college in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, it is clear that student politics has touched a certain low.

Professors H S Sabharwal and M L Nath had cancelled the Madhav College students' union elections following allegations of irregularities. Sabharwal was mobbed by agitating students, allegedly belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He succumbed to his wounds.

ABVP's Madhya Pradesh unit secretary Vimal Tomar, who was later arrested along with state ABVP president Shashiranjan Akela, was shown by television channels abusing and threatening Nath during the elections.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed students' body categorically denied its involvement in the incident and claimed to possess a video CD that showed rival National Students Union of India workers beating up Sabharwal.

Refuting the charges, NSUI leaders and Ujjain Congress president Batuk Shankar Joshi claimed the footage cited by the ABVP leader simply showed NSUI members arguing with some professors while Sabharwal was standing quite some distance away. They also claimed they had a CD that showed the actual assault on Sabharwal.

Meanwhile, Sabharwal's son Himanshu said he had sent a petition to President A P J Abdul Kalam seeking justice. He also plans to move the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission with the plea for justice.

Photograph: Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Images

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