Chandigarh University students end protest; varsity declares 'non-teaching days' till Sep 24
Chandigarh (PTI): Students of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali ended their protest in the early hours of Monday after the district administration and police assured them of a fair and transparent investigation into allegations that objectionable videos of several women students had been recorded.
The university on Monday suspended two wardens for negligence and also declared "non-teaching days" till September 24.
Further, it formed a joint committee comprising students and senior functionaries to address certain issues pertaining to hostel timings and other demands of the students, sources in the varsity said.
"They (students) ended their protest at around 1:30 am," Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni said.
He told reporters that a special investigation team headed by a senior police officer will be formed to probe the case.
The university in a tweet said, "We are always with our students, be it their academic aspirations or their safety and well-being. We will leave no stone unturned to live it upto this commitment towards our students."
Protest had rocked the campus on Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several women students were recorded by a hosteller. Some students claimed that the videos were even leaked.
Police, however, had said the woman student appeared to have shared a video of only herself with a 23-year-old man, stated to be her boyfriend, and no objectionable video of any other student was found.
She was arrested from Punjab itself while the man was held in Himachal Pradesh and handed over to the Punjab Police. Officials said the woman's mobile phone has been seized for forensic analysis and added that there was no suicide attempt by any student.
The university authorities had also rejected as "false and baseless" reports that claimed videos of several women students in the hostel were made and leaked on social media and that distraught students had attempted suicide.
The students, however, had accused the university authorities of "suppressing facts" and held a fresh protest on Sunday evening, which continued till late night.
An FIR under Section 354-C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act has been registered in the matter and further probe is on, police said.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
