Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 17 Oct: Around 30 members of the Rajiv Gandhi University Students’ Union (RGUSU) on Monday vandalised the office chamber of RGU Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Saket Kushwaha.
The incident reportedly occurred over the issue of restarting the prefect system in the university. According to the RGU administration, the prefect system was abolished in 2021.
RGU Senior Security Officer Badal Techi informed that “the students came directly into the office and vandalised the room,” and added that the VC’s security personnel were also manhandled.
Techi said that the VC himself could have been manhandled had he (Techi) not been present there.
According to the students residing in the hostels, “hefty charges are being taken with a separate fee structure of the hostel and the mess for a semester.”
A third semester sociology student said that “it’s a total failure on the part of the university. Without the presence of a hostel prefect, it makes our work difficult to address our issues, and there is no use of the hostel wardens, who are not even present in the hostels.”
The students also complained about the quality of food that is served in the refectory, and about “non-refund of the hostel fee of Rs 1,000 even after leaving the hostel or passing out from the university.”
It is learnt that the students also misbehaved with RGU Finance Officer Otem Padung, and had a tussle with Registrar Dr NT Rikam.
Meanwhile, RGU authorities said that the RGUSU’s demand for reintroducing the prefect system “was under process” when the incident occurred. It is not known whether the students were aware that such a process was underway.
The security officer further informed that the students issued a 10-day ultimatum for reintroducing the prefect system.
Sources in the university said that the RGUSU team had sought an appointment with the VC twice earlier but he refused to meet the students.
This daily could not contact the VC and the registrar as they were engaged in a meeting. Attempts to contact the president and the general secretary of the RGUSU also went in vain.
This is the second time that the university finds itself in a controversy. The last was during the time of Prof KC Beliappa as the RGU VC in 2011.
In the instant case, the university authorities lodged an FIR at the Doimukh police station at 10 pm.
Earlier, in the afternoon, Papum Pare SP Neelam Nega visited the RGU campus to take stock of the matter.
