Management calls cops as students accused of vandalising TISS registrar's office

Students issued a statement claiming a complaint was registered, but the police denied that a complaint was lodged.

The ongoing clash between the management of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and its students over scholarship issues saw the police land up on the campus on Monday morning.

For the past two days, students have moved their dharna to the admin block near the registrar's office. While the students have alleged that the management called for police action, falsely accusing them of vandalising the registrar's office, the institute's management has issued a statement stating that reporting an incident to the local police was just a precautionary measure.

Students say
"The registrar sent out a complaint to the police falsely accusing the students of vandalising his office, including breaking the CCTV and other fixtures. The police entered the campus around 11.30 am for a routine investigation. However, the students assured the police that there has been no such act, and it was a false allegation against the non-violently protesting students on the campus," read the statement issued by the students.

Fahad Ahmad, general secretary of the students' body, said, "We just want a dialogue with the institute management and have written twice to the administration regarding it. We haven't received any response and so the dharna was moved to the admin block on Friday evening."

TISS management says
The TISS management statement alleges that on Friday, the students encroached upon the registrar's office and held a senior professor hostage till the wee hours of March 24. It says, "Keeping in mind the continuous disruptive tactics used by the students, an incident report was filed with the police station to inform the authorities about the matter and to prevent loss of documents and damage to property. This is a preventive action initiated by the administration for the authorities to take note of the incidents and registered after nearly a month-long stir by a certain section of the students. In view of the incident report, only one police officer visited the institute to take stock of the situation."

No complaint, says police
Interestingly, the police denied that a complaint was lodged. DCP Shahaji Umap said, "We have received a letter from the institute management regarding the students' protest. But, since it was only in the form of information, there is no complaint in this case."

Also Read: Mumbai: TISS issues scholarship application notice four days prior to deadline

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