Youth Congress workers booked over clash with ABVP at Pune hostel campus

Pune: Pune police on Saturday registered a case against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers following a violent clash with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad at a university hostel campus ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Chhatron Ki Goonj event in the city.

Police were deployed in large numbers at the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) hostel campus following a clash between members of the ABVP and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Friday.

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Based on a complaint lodged by an ABVP member, a first information report was registered against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing simple physical hurt), 189(1) (unlawful assembly), 351(1) (criminal intimidation) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Police Act, an official said.

The complainant has alleged that Congress workers were forcing female students of the institute to register for the Chhatron ki Goonj event and pressuring one of them to record a video statement.

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ABVP members visited the hostel to inquire into the matter when Congress workers allegedly verbally abused and assaulted them, the complaint stated.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who visited the hostel after the incident, claimed that ABVP workers were threatening the two female students.

Akshay Jain, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress (Media Department), had said that the incident was "extremely unfortunate". The two female students had raised concerns over their scholarship issues and supported the Chhatron ki Gunj event, he said.