Nizam College protest: Students claim top official threatening police action against them

Hyderabad: The protesting students of Nizam College, who are demanding hostel accommodation, have alleged that Naveen Mittal, the commissioner of collegiate education and technical education, has directed the police to arrest five of the protesting students and to file FIRs against them.

The undergraduate female students of Nizam College have been protesting for a week alleging they were not allocated hostels on the campus and that around 600 UG students are paying heavy rent and staying outside.

On Thursday, the students met Naveen Mittal for a discussion.

"When our vice-principal asked us to come for discussions with the officials, we gave them 10 names who would be our representatives and went to the intermediate board office. There, they held a conference call with Naveen Mittal which was also attended by our principal and vice-principal," said Navya George, a second-year student of Nizam College.

The students felt that the discussion did not go well as the officials said hostel facility can be provided for PG students only. So, they wanted to discuss it with the rest of the female students who were protesting.

They went back and explained the situation to the others who said they wanted hostel accommodation for all the UG students. "When we explained the same to the officials, he (Naveen Mittal) immediately asked us to continue the protests and instructed the police to arrest five students and book FIRs against them," said Navya.

She further said the students are disappointed with the IAS officer's response. "We will continue the protest until we get hostel accommodation. We have not done anything wrong," added Navya.

NewsMeter contacted Naveen Mittal's office but did not get any response. The copy will be updated once we hear from them.