Markaz protest; Students in judicial custody

KOZHIKODE: The eight students who were taken into custody by Kunnamangalam police on Friday for protesting against the Markaz Institute of Engineering and Technology were remanded in judicial custody by the Kunnamangalam Judicial First Class Magistrate on Saturday. The students who agitated  in front of the college against the alleged  running of courses without affiliation of the All-India Council for Technical Education   were held  for blocking traffic and destroying public property, said SI S. Rajeesh, who is investigating the case.

The police demolished the ‘pandal’ used by the students.  They  gathered on the premises of the police station demanding the students’ release late in  the night.
An expert panel that probed the issue submitted a report to  district collector U.V. Jose.   However, the collector told DC on Saturday that it was the director of technical education, who had  a final say in the matter.  

“The institution failed to obtain recognition for the particular courses and instead, they advertised that it had Government of India as well as AICTE recognition. But the same was not included in their prospectus. We are now looking into the provisions if the course can be recognised so that the future of the students is  not affected. Punishing the guilty alone is not our issue. We should be able to ensure justice for the students, who are victimised,” said Mr Jose. The institute on Saturday stated that the diploma courses run through the Institute of Civil Engineers India and Institute of Automobile Engineers India were recognised.