NIT Srinagar students get exam date option

The decision comes a day after a three-member team of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry visited the campus to take stock of situation and held talks with the agitating students to defuse the tension.

Expressing a sense of insecurity at the campus, the outstation students told the team that they wanted to go home and appear for exams later. The students also made a slew of demands, including shifting the institute out of Kashmir and action against policemen involved in lathicharge on Monday. 

“There are students who want to appear later but a majority of them want to do it as per schedule. So an option will be given to them. For those who want to appear later, re-exams will be scheduled,” officials in the ministry said. The exams are scheduled to start next week.

“The HRD team which has gone to the campus will stay there till the exams are concluded. The J and K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has also assured Union Minister Smriti Irani that safety of all students will be ensured,” the officials said.

Tension started brewing inside the NIT campus, located on the banks of famous Dal lake, last week after India lost to West Indies in semi-final in the T-20 cricket tournament prompting some local students to rejoice and burst crackers. This led to protest by outstation students resulting in clashes.

Since March 31 night, the situation inside the campus has been volatile and the authorities had posted personnel from Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB).

Life in Jammu region was thrown out of gear on Thursday following a ‘bandh’ being observed to protest over alleged police high-handedness on outstation students at NIT in Srinagar. 

The region faced a shutdown called by various groups, including Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) to protest against the cane charge on outstation students by the police on April 5. 

The Jammu Province People’s Forum (JPPF), Sri Ram Sene and various student organisations had extended their support to one-day Jammu bandh call. The Bar Association of Jammu (BAJ) also decided to suspend work in all the courts across the region. 

“Though we are yet to extend our support for the strike but the BAJ has suspended work in all courts across the region to protest against police brutality on the students,” BAJ president Abhinav Sharma said. 

While schools and other educational institutions remained closed, the attendance at government and private offices remained thin. 

Police released video images about the NIT incident showing non-local students damaging property of the institute and clashing with police. Official sources said at least 20 students have been identified who indulged in violence in the camps.