12 students debarred from BHU for protesting against sexual violence, as culprits roam free: NAPM

By A Representative
Strongly condemning the expulsion of 12 students from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), the National Coordination of People's Movements (NAPM), India's top civil rights network, has said that this has been done even though the police has withdrawn all charges put against them following massive students' movement last year in September 2017 in the wake of incidents of sexual violence in BHU.
Thousands of student students were lathi-charged on instructions of the BHU administration, and the government refused to talk to the students who came to the streets demanding safe and democratic campus, NAPM said, adding, a year has passed but there is no action against the culprits. Instead of taking action against those responsible for sexual violence, the BHU administration has again taken action against students.
NAPM regretted, earlier a group of mediapersons and the BHU's chief proctor tried to make out that the September 2017 movement was sponsored. It was sought to be propagated that pizza and cold drinks filled in trucks were brought to feed the participants in the movement. After this, the students, who went to seek explanation on this baseless and irresponsible statement of the chief proctor, were booked in serious criminal offenses.
NAPM continued, the police investigation has found that the students are innocent. But surprisingly, the university administration has debarred 12 students from taking admission in any future course. They are being threatened to be removed from the hostel. The dictatorship and discriminatory rules of administration have been discussed in Parliament.

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