Chennai: Forty students of Madras University, who protested against the management for roughing up an overseas student during a seminar on Tuesday, were detained by police on Wednesday.
With protests refusing to die out, the university has declared holidays till January 3, postponing an exam scheduled for December 17. A new exam schedule will be announced on January 4.
Agitated students claim that it was not just French student Jonas Anton Pulendrasa who was thrashed by the authority, but four other students were also roughed up. “The management did not take any action even after a written complaint. Today some students were protesting and suddenly the police constables pulled them up and were beating them and pushed them into the police van,” said Hari Ram who was part of the protest.
But since he was not allowed to enter inside the premises of the university he was not taken into custody. Tanzanian student Bob Mahona said that after the incident happened with Jonas, he was also beaten up for recording the fracas. “The Registrar told me that we foreign students were the one who create trouble. He asked me to go back to my country,” he said, adding that both Jonas and he had sought help from their consulate offices.
Jonas who was present at the protest said, “I spoke to the French consulate. They considered this as a scandal and will talk to the management.” The students who were held in custody at a community hall in Chinthadripet at around 10 am were released at 6 pm in the evening. Jonas had also filed a CSR (Community Service Register) against the management. He is yet to file an FIR.
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