College students held with weapons on reopening day

It was the ruckus created by a group of students of Presidency College, who came to the college on an MTC bus (route No. 6D) on Monday morning, that prompted the police to intercept the vehicle on Kamarajar Salai. When they secured four students, police officers found weapons such as machete, a battle-axe, and a kitchen knife on them. After interrogation, R Ajit Kumar (19) of Tiruvannamalai, a second-year English literature student, and Suman Raj (19) of Chromepet, pursuing BA history, were placed under arrest.

Similarly, two former students of Pachaiyappa’s College among four persons were secured with weapons by Flower Bazaar police. When the students on about 20 bikes were passing by Flower Bazaar, police stopped and searched the vehicles to find 10 machetes in a two-wheeler.

When four persons were secured for questioning, they feigned ignorance initially, before admitting that they were carrying weapons to intimidate other students.

Among the four was Manikandan (22) of Manali, a 2016 batch student of Pachaiyappa’s College, who was arrested in 2016 for breaking the glass panel of an MTC bus on Wall Tax Road.

The others were Jagan (20), a BA Economics student; N Prabakaran (21), brother of a former student, and a minor. The three were booked under Section 4 of Arms Act and remanded in judicial custody.

In Saidapet, police secured a group of students of Government Arts College in Nandanam for creating nuisance, but let them off with stern warning.

Similar incidents were reported in other places well. In Aminjikarai, an MTC bus (46G) was aattacked by students of Pachayappa’s and C Kandasamy Naidu colleges. Aminjikarai police have secured 17 students in connection with this.

Ahead of the new academic year, police officers had called students to stations and counselled them against indulging in unlawful activities. They had also held talks with college authorities.