Students created a ruckus on university and college campuses in several cities in Rajasthan, including Jaipur, on Monday during the filing of nominations for students' union elections scheduled to be held on August 26, the police said.
The police used mild force to disperse the "unruly" mob of supporters of candidates and deployed additional policemen to maintain the law and order.
According to the police, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad candidate for president’s post in Jaipur's Rajasthan University -- Narendra Yadav -- held a show of strength with a large number of his supporters during filing of nomination papers.
When the police tried to restrict their entry into the university and administrative block citing the model code of conduct, the students turned unruly and created a ruckus, officials said, adding that the police had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation.
Later, the students blocked the JLN Road outside the university in protest against the lathicharge and allegedly pelted stones at the police.
The police have detained around half a dozen students, the officials said.
”They were violating the model code of conduct and when they were stopped from forcefully entering the campus, they created a ruckus and entered the premises. FIR will be registered and action against those involved in the ruckus will be taken,” a police official said.
ABVP candidate Narendra Yadav told reporters that the police targeted him and his supporters just because the government wants to defeat the ABVP in the students' union elections.
”I am the son of a farmer. Whenever I have raised my voice for students, I am suppressed. Today we were targeted by the police under a conspiracy,” he said.
The ABVP workers alleged that some of the supporters were injured in the lathicharge and they were not shifted to hospital by the police.
JLN Road and surrounding areas faced traffic congestion due to the blockade, and traffic was diverted to avoid congestion, the police said.
In a college in Barmer, supporters of two rival candidates confronted each other during the filing of nominations. Both the candidates reached the college along with a large number of their supporters. The police used mild force to control the situation.
Similarly, some unruly students created ruckus in a college in Ajmer. However, the police brought the situation under control, officials said.
