Bhubaneswar: BJB Autonomous College authorities Wednesday evening cancelled student union elections within hours of issuing notification and closed the college sine die citing repeated pre-election violence on the
campus.
The college authorities decided to cancel the students’ union elections because of repeated violence. ‘‘The decision has been taken following the staff council meeting. The college is being closed sine die. The students are asked to vacate hostels,” read a notification issued by the authorities.
According to sources, the decision to scrap student union elections and close the college sine die was taken following two rounds of meetings of staff council Wednesday.
The district administration has taken over the campus and the students have been advised to vacate the hostels. Police personnel have been deployed to monitor the situation.
The situation, however, continues to remain tense on the campus after the closure notice. Some agitated students locked down the main gate of the college seeking a discussion with the authorities on the situation. They also demanded installation of CCTV on the campus and measures to block entry of outsiders.
A group of students said there was no violence. They, however, said a few supporters of Biju Chatra Janata Dal burst crackers in an attempt to complicate the situation. The college authorities took the incident as a pretext to scrap the polls altogether, they said.
One of the agitating students, identified as Soubhagya Ranjan Sahu, attempted self-immolation after dousing petrol on himself. The cops present on the scene, however, prevented the attempt.
Meanwhile, student union elections have also been scrapped in Ekamra College, College of Basic Science and Humanities and City Women’s College owing to pre-poll violence
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