Srinagar NIT unrest: HRD team reaches campus to asses situation

Srinagar: A two member central team from the Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry reached the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar today to take stock of the situation after tension gripped the campus where unrest flared again yesterday after a group of students clashed with the police, which resorted to baton-charge in which some were injured. The team comprising Director Technical Education of the HRD Ministry and an Under Secretary-level HRD officer interacted with the students at the varsity. The team will assess the situation and hold deliberations with the divisional administration, senior police officials and NIT authorities. Meanwhile, the Centre has asserted that steps must be taken to ensure that no force is used on the students, adding their studies must not be affected. "The people from the HRD Ministry are on their way there to take stock of the situation and will also speak to the students. We are taking this entire issue into consideration with great severity. Since day one, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has been taking feedback from the campus. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is also talking to the Chief Minister and the DG Police," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh told ANI. Unrest was witnessed at the NIT campus, with outstation students expressing a sense of insecurity and attempting to leave the campus, which led to a confrontation with the police. The protesters were outstation students who said they wanted to go back home in light of the violent clashes that broke out with local students on Friday after India lost the World Twenty20 semifinals. With the situation being tense, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was deployed last night at the campus. The situation escalated to the point that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh wrote to newly sworn-in Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who assured him that action would be taken. The NIT authorities shut down the institute for five days after the clashes broke out when a group of Kashmiri students allegedly celebrated West Indies' victory over India. The institute resumed normal functioning on Monday after divisional administration amicably resolved the issues arising out of the undesired situation.