EFLU students continue hunger strike; admin calls for peace, says police job to catch culprits

Hyderabad: Responding to the demands of the protesting students at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), the senior administrative functionaries said that arresting the culprits involved in the recent attack on a student on campus is not in the hands of the university and the police are investigating the incident.

The officials of the university met with the protesting students on Monday evening at the EFLU main gate in Tarnaka, Secunderabad, appealing to them to call off the protests.

Hundreds of EFLU students across all student unions have been protesting since mid-October at the university campus following their demand for the formation of a Sparsh (Sensitisation, Prevention, and Redressal of Sexual Harassment) committee and the following physical assault on an MA student inside the campus, who was said to be in the forefront of the Sparsh protest.

'Arresting culprits is not in our hands'

On Tuesday, the students continued with their peaceful protest in the form of a hunger strike. They launched a relay hunger strike on Monday, asking the university administration to address their demands. Several students who were detained by the police on Monday and prior to that in October have been released. However, women police officials have been deployed around the area of hunger strike.

The university, in a note released after the officials met with the students, requested the students to help the university administration in case they have information about the movement of suspicious individuals on the campus or any other clue with regard to the incident. "Arresting the culprits is not in our hands," the administration said in the release. They said that the survivor could not give any clue to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) that would help identify the culprits. The university administrative functionaries also termed the students’ demand for the resignation of the Proctorial Board as untenable.

ICC election would be held after the state polls

Speaking on the members onboard the ICC, the university said that its chairperson did not hold the post of a dean or head of a department at the time of her appointment as the presiding officer of the ICC.

The administration said that the ICC is constituted as per the UGC regulations, except for the three student representatives. The university administration said that it had issued a circular stating that the elections would be held after the completion of the Legislative Assembly elections in Telangana, and assured that the elected student representatives would be inducted into the ICC as per requirement.

‘Security measures to prevent future incidents’

With regard to the implementation of strict security measures on the campus and increased surveillance on the campus, the EFLU administration emphasised that the university is taking measures in the best interest of the students and their safety to prevent any further untoward incidents from happening on the campus.

The university administration rejected the allegations that students’ movements and access to university spaces are being restricted. “Most of the students move around the campus until late hours at night. No one prevents them from moving around,” the university note said.