Rohtak, June 20: Several outsourced employees of Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (UHSR) were detained by police on Friday morning after they attempted to resume their indefinite protest at Vijay Park, located within the university campus. The employees had been staging a dharna for 18 consecutive days before being stopped under judicial orders.
The police action followed a local court directive prohibiting any form of protest by striking employees within a 200-meter radius of the university and the adjoining PGIMS hospital. The court has scheduled the matter for its next hearing on July 1.
Despite the university administration pasting a copy of the court order at the protest site on Thursday, a large group of employees gathered again on Friday morning. As the crowd refused to disperse, police detained the demonstrators and transported them to the police lines by bus. A video showing a heated exchange between protesters and police officials went viral on social media, drawing public attention to the standoff.
“We were detained and taken to the police lines this morning,” one of the protesters confirmed.
The outsourced staff are demanding that their employment be regularised under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN). Though hired through a private agency, the workers are currently paid by the university via the agency, a system they say lacks job security and long-term benefits.
Responding to the issue, UHSR Vice-Chancellor Prof HK Aggarwal said the administration had already taken steps to address the demand. “The university has requested the state government to transition outsourced employees to the HKRN,” he said.
With the protest site vacated for now and legal proceedings underway, all eyes are on the July 1 hearing, which may determine the path forward for the agitating workers.
