New Delhi, Jan 18: Hansraj College principal Rama Sharma Wednesday refused to withdraw an order discontinuing non-veg food in the hostel and canteen despite facing widespread criticism and asserted the DU constituent college follows Arya Samaj's philosophy.

Speaking to PTI, Sharma also claimed that 90 per cent of the students are vegetarian and they had earlier protested over non-veg food being served in the hostel.

Hansraj College's decision to discontinue serving non-vegetarian food at its canteen and hostel after it reopened following the pandemic in February last year has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters.

Though students claimed that no notice was issued in this matter, Sharma clarified that "a notice was issued and the hostel prospectus mentioned that no non-veg food will be served at the hostel".

"We are not going to withdraw the notice regarding non-veg food. It is an Arya Samaj college. We have our philosophy and that is why we won't serve non-veg food. We conduct 'havan' regularly. We follow our rules. It is written in the hostel prospectus that non-veg food will not be served in the hostel," she told PTI.

"We don't ask St Stephen's (college) to conduct 'havan'. We don't interfere with Khalsa College rules. Then why are we being questioned? We don't say do not eat non-veg food. We just simply ask don't bring non-veg food in college," Sharma added.

A group of students affiliated with the Students' Federation of India (SFI) has called for a protest at Hansraj College against the "discontinuation" of non-vegetarian food and termed it an attempt at "saffronising the campus".

The SFI's Hansraj College unit, in a statement, said frustration is brewing in campus against the "ban" on non-vegetarian food. The protest will be held outside Hansraj Hostel on January 20, it said.

The SFI alleged that there have also been instances where the Hansraj administration confiscated eggs from students who brought them to the hostel.

It claimed a survey was conducted within the Hansraj hostel and was found that almost 75 per cent of students were non-vegetarians as against the college principal's claim that 90 per cent of students were vegetarians, the SFI added.

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Mumbai (PTI): Bhavesh Bhinde, an advertising firm’s director, whose company had put up the giant hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai killing 16 people, was brought to the city early on Friday, a police official said.

Bhinde, director of M/s Ego Media Pvt. Ltd., the advertising agency which recently installed the billboard that crashed in suburban Ghatkopar on Monday evening, was apprehended from Udaipur in Rajasthan on Thursday, he said.

Bhinde was then taken to Ahmedabad and from there he was brought to Mumbai by flight, the official said.

The police team along with Bhinde arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport around 5 am and he was taken to a crime branch office, he said.

He will be produced before the court later in the day, he said.

After trailing Bhinde for three days, the city police nabbed him on Thursday from Udaipur, he said.

The 120 feet x 120 feet hoarding collapsed onto a nearby petrol pump in the Chhedanagar area in Ghatkopar during gusty winds and heavy unseasonal rains, killing 16 people and injuring 75 others.

After the tragedy, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the IPC was registered at the Pant Nagar Police Station against Bhinde, all directors of the advertising agency Ego Media, its officials and employees, officials had said earlier.