Rourkela: Panic gripped students and employees of the premier National Institute Technology here after ‘Lal Salam’ was found written on an overhead water tank on its premises.
While a group of students, lecturers and other staff feared it was a handiwork of left wing extremists (LWEs) to assert their presence on the campus, others attributed it to a group of students who may be trying to exercise their dominance by such means.
The police on being informed by the NIT authorities started an investigation into the matter. Four names were mentioned near the place where ‘Lal Salaam’ was written in English. Police have started a search to nab those so named.
The institution had a Holi break for four days. Some of the employees sighted the letters on the water tank Monday when they were on a morning walk. The news went viral after they apprised the NIT authorities of the matter. Students, lecturers and employees thronged the place to see the writing on a 200-ft high overhead tank.
When contacted, NIT spokesperson RK Sinha said authorities suspected it to be a handiwork of a students’ outfit and ruled out any Maoist links. However, they have informed the Sector-3 police about this.
Sector-3 police station officer-in-charge Pratima Majhi echoed the view of the college authorities. She said clarity will come after the four persons, whose names were written on the overhead tank, are arrested. PNN