Chandigarh, Nov 17: Chandigarh Police have lodged an FIR against unidentified protesters following a violent episode at Panjab University (PU) on November 10, when demonstrators led by the Panjab University Bachao Morcha allegedly attacked officers while forcing entry into the campus.
The FIR, based on the statement of Sub-Inspector Partibha of Sector 31 police station, details how around 2-3 pm, students inside the campus began breaking Gate Number 1’s iron chain and lock, while outsiders outside removed barricades to enter. “They forcibly opened the gate in the form of an illegal assembly, obstructing officers and disrupting law and order,” SI Partibha stated. Four officials—including DSP SPS Sondhi, Inspector Rohit Kumar, Senior Constable Vipin Sharma, and SI Partibha herself—sustained injuries and received treatment at GMSH, Sector 16.
The gate had been secured as part of security preparations under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prohibiting gatherings of more than four people, following anticipatory planning for potential unrest. Police teams from Sector 17, Industrial Area, and Women Police Station were deployed under DSP Sondhi’s supervision.
The FIR invokes sections 221, 223, 190, 191(2), 115(2), 121(1), and 132 of the BNSS, covering obstruction of public servants, disobedience to orders, unlawful assembly, rioting, and causing hurt to officers. Police confirmed that they are reviewing footage from government videographers present during the incident to identify participants.
The protest escalated after the Centre’s notification to alter the PU senate was rescinded, but the Bachao Morcha continues to demand that the schedule for pending senate elections be announced. PU had submitted a poll schedule for approval on November 9 and requested calm from students. Nevertheless, the Morcha went ahead with a campus shutdown on November 10, drawing widespread support from across Punjab and triggering unrest in Chandigarh and Mohali.
The ongoing agitation has also led the Morcha to announce a complete boycott of semester exams starting November 18, forcing the university to delay the schedule by three days. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked students to resume classes, and PU Teachers’ Association president Amarjit Singh Naura commented, “With a key demand already addressed by the Centre, we urge all stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue so that academic activities are not disrupted any further.” Meanwhile, a five-member PU professors’ committee continues negotiations with the students, who insist on the withdrawal of all FIRs as a precondition for dialogue.
