[ToI] Students clash over 'ragging' incident

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HYDERABAD: Clashes broke out between students of Nizam College on Friday following an alleged ragging incident on the campus. Police had to resort to a mild lathicharge and eight students of the college were arrested.

Abids police booked cases under section 70 B of City Police Act and 323 IPC against the students. They were later released on bail.

A group of second year BA students had called for a mass boycott of classes on Thursday demanding suspension of 10 final year students for allegedly ragging first year students.

Following this, final year students retaliated on Friday by storming into the principal's office, demanding that the second year students substantiate the allegations against them.

Both second year and final year students came to blows outside the principal's office around 11 am. Police had to intervene and resorted to lathicharge when the situation went out of control.

Around 20 policemen were deployed on the campus to maintain peace.

Nizam College principal, however, said there was no reported instance of ragging on the campus and the agitation between the students was to settle personal and political scores. "The anti-ragging committee on the campus did not get any complaints of ragging from any student,'' said the principal, Prof S Satyanarayana.

The five-member committee has called representatives of both the groups on Saturday to sort out the issue.

Many of the students of the college felt that the fight was a fallout of the traditional rivalry between the ABVP and SFI students. "There were instances of tension between final and second year students even months after the academic year began. Ragging was brought in as a pretext to settle scores,"a final year student of BA economics said.