Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 12: Struggle of the non-local students of NIT Srinagar, who were protesting on the campus for the last one week, took to streets here today after they reached Jammu during the last midnight.
More than 600 NIT students, who had assembled at the Gurdwara near Vivekanand Chowk after reaching here, took out a protest march and held a strong demonstration near the Press Club Jammu.
Carrying tricolour flags and placards with slogans in support of their demand, these students raised slogans and refused to go to the NIT Srinagar till the Government shifts the campus outside Kashmir Valley.
Kapil Mishra, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Cabinet Minister in Kejriwal Government, rushed from Delhi and joined the protesting students to express his solidarity with them. He remained with the students and also arranged for their food.
Later, in the evening, all these students left to Delhi via train and buses. Kapil Mishra accompanied them.
Meanwhile reports from Srinagar said that authorities have decreased the presence of paramilitary CRPF personnel in on NIT campus as majority of outstation students have gone home. PRO CRPF, Ashish Jha, told Excelsior that now only women CPRF personnel are deployed on the campus while rest have been withdrawn.
On the other hand, the outstation students, who are still at campus, boycotted examinations for the second straight day. An official of the NIT said that though the exams were held as per schedule but the attendance was very thin due to boycott of outstation students while several local students also couldn’t appear because of a strike call.
Further, he added, out of 1400 outstation students, who had submitted their details for going to their homes, 1200 have already left so far. “Now only 200 are here and today very few left because of strike in the Valley,” he said.
In the meanwhile, police have released three activists of Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena (BSKS) including its chief Tajjinder Bagga from custody after they were detained outside NIT Srinagar yesterday while attempting to enter the campus to unfurl Tricolour and express solidarity with outstation students. The police has not registered any case against the trio.
Meanwhile, describing the NIT row as explosive which brought disgrace to the nation, a contingent of Panther Party activists, led by Harshdev Singh and other leaders, staged a protest demonstration at Exhibition Ground Jammu today.
Lambasting the State Government for its lackadaisical and insouciant approach to resolve the issue, Harshdev Singh regretted that while the people of India and the student fraternity in particular were boiling with rage, the State Government remained apathetic terming the issue as minor and trivial. He further said that the neglect of both the Central and State Governments in handling the issue could be gauged by the postponement of the scheduled meeting of Parliamentary Consultative committee of HRD in Srinagar on Wednesday, which was to be attended by Union Minister MHRD Samriti Irani and several MPs due to unknown reasons.
The former Education Minister demanded NIT facilities both at Jammu and Srinagar and sought a provision of an extension center of NIT Srinagar in Jammu in the interest of the students. He disclosed that there were NIT institution with extension center, like NIT Allahabad having its extension center at Sultanpur.
In Samba, National Conference Student Union (NCSU) also organized a protest rally over the issue of NIT Srinagar. The rally, led by Rajeshwar Singh, NCSU vice president Jammu University, began from near Bhargwa College, Samba and culminated at Main Chowk, Samba.
Carrying tricolor in their hands, a number of students shouted slogans against State Government and police for mishandling the situation. They condemned the brutal cane charge by the police upon the innocent nationalist NIT Srinagar students.
The rally comprised of Pankaj Singh Sambyal, senior YNC leader Samba, Rishi Sharma, Akash Sharma, Rinku Choudhary and others.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) in a secretariat meeting has constituted five members fact finding committee on NIT Srinagar row.
The Committee will be headed by Balwant Singh Mankotia, State President, NPP which included Gagan Pratap Singh, Chetan Sharma, Mohinder Pal Singh Pandu and Bashir-Ud-Din as members.
Mankotia while speaking to the media disclosed that the aforesaid committee will leave for Srinagar tomorrow to find the actual facts which led to the infamous NIT row and submit its report to the Ministry of HRD, Government of India within five days.
He said that since the apprehensions were rife that the report of the State committee would be biased, the Panthers Party decided to form its fact finding committee to unveil the truth before the people, he added.
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