Rattled by an alleged incident of bombing by clashing student groups at a prestigious college in Patna, police and college authorities were on Monday engaged in evacuating the hostels, from where bombs were recovered, even as rising incidents of this kind worried both education and administrative authorities.
An order by the Patna College administration to borders in its five hostels to vacate the premises by early Monday morning following the massive clash and bombing on Saturday had met protests organised by various student organisations. Sources said the hostels, which were largely occupied by non-students and alleged criminal elements were yet to be fully vacated. The hostel borders had defied the original order to vacate the hostels by Sunday noon.
Fourteen students were named in an FIR registered by the police for Saturday’s violent clash between scores of borders of the Minto Hostel and Jackson Hostel that left at least five students injured. The clash arose from a minor quarrel between two students of the Bachelor in Mass Communication class — Nishikant Kumar and Mohammad Abid. Two bombs were exploded on the college campus by the students and a live bomb was recovered by the police who reached an hour after the clashes erupted. The college authorities, however, dismissed reports of bombing, saying they were “firecrackers”.
This was the third incident of alleged bombing in Patna University, the two earlier ones being on January 29 and March 12. There were four such incidents recorded in the university campus last year, two of which were attributed to rivalries between student organisations over the student union polls. The police had recovered bomb-making material at a post-graduate hostel in a raid on November 14, 2012.
University sources said the root of campus violence was the unauthorised residence of hundreds of non-students with alleged criminal links. These groups wield such influence that it is reportedly on their wish and direction that even genuine borders get rooms and beds allotted.