New Delhi: The human resources development ministry is sending a two-member team to the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar campus on Wednesday which has been gripped by tension following clashes among students over the Indian cricket team’s loss against West Indies in the T20 World Cup last week.
“The Ministry has decided to send a two-member team comprising a Director and an Under Secretary rank officer, who will listen to the students there,” a senior official said. Unrest was witnessed again on Tuesday at the campus, with outstation students expressing a sense of insecurity and attempting to leave the campus, leading to a confrontation with police which resorted to lathicharge in which some were injured.
With the situation being tense, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was deployed at campus late on Tuesday and the Jammu and Kashmir government assured full security to the students from other states studying here. Union home minister Rajnath Singh also called up Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and discussed with her the situation at NIT.
Last Friday, the campus had witnessed clashes between local and outstation students over India’s defeat in the semifinal match in the World T20 tournament. After the clashes, the NIT authorities had shut down the institute which was reopened on Tuesday. “We take responsibility all the students of the country studying in NIT. We have put in place all the measures,” the deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh had said on Tuesday.
Administration has held meeting with the NIT students to resolve the issue, Singh said, adding SSP Srinagar is camping in the area to ensure peace. He said the outstation students are demanding security and postponement of exams. “Director of NIT has said that the demands have been accepted,” he said.
PTI