M A I N   N E W S

Students clash in Shimla, 1 hurt
Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 4
Tension gripped Himachal Pradesh University following a clash between activists of the Students Federation of India and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad in which one person was injured.

Today’s clash was a sequel to the last night’s incident near Ava Lodge in which some activists of the ABVP allegedly beat up Pankaj Kumar, a worker of the SFI, and his father. The two were on their way to the Sanitorium hospital when they were attacked.

The activists of the rival student bodies had a confrontation at the Summer Hill chowk this morning. The altercation turned into a clash in which sharp-edged weapons were used. Sanjay, an ABVP activist, was injured in the clash. He suffered a deep cut on the thumb. The ABVP alleged that he was stabbed.

The police has registered two FIRs in connection with the clash. The ABVP named six activists of the SFI, Parvesh Chandel, Neeraj Basu, Ranjit, Kuldeep Chamyal, Sumer Singh and Neelu Singh, in the FIR. In its FIR, the SFI alleged that over a dozen ABVP workers, including Sanjay Sharma, Babu Ram, Sanjeev Kumar and Mulu Ram, were involved in the attack.

Later, supporters of the SFI held a rally on the campus demanding action against the ABVP workers involved in the attack. The ABVP activists blocked traffic for sometime on the Shimla-Kalka highway near the police barrier. They met the Registrar of the university and urged him to take action against the workers of the SFI involved in the clash.

Mr Yog Raj, Superintendent of Police, said additional force had been deployed in the university area.