Students demand revoking of the expulsion order

Silchar, Aug 26: A group of students of Assam University in a memorandum submitted to the deputy commissioner of Cachar today has made an appeal to exercise his good offices in order persuade the University authority concerned for revoking the decision to expel three students for lifetime who were allegedly involved in a conflict on August 16 in the campus with its pill over till August 18, creating a volatile situation which brought two warring groups of students headlong. The situation became so tense that the police had to be called in to calm down the upsurge arising out of amorous affairs.
The conflict, in fact, disturbed the academic atmosphere and affected regular classes. The University authority had to appoint an inquiry committee to look into the entire unsavoury episode and submit its report within 48 hours. Accordingly the inquiry committee submitted its report which recommended expulsionof three students for lifetime. The students involved in the conflict included Pinku Basumatari of third semester computer science, Rina Karmakar of information technology and Ashish Kumar of agriculture also of third semester.
The memorandum claimed that since the matter was resolved amicably on August 18 in the presence of the deputy commissioner of Cachar and the University authorities in the seminar hall in the presence of students and other dignitaries, it failed to understand why the decisionwas reversed to expel the students in question. The Vice-Chancellor on the basis of the findings of the inquiry committee and in exercise of the power under provision 31(3) of the statue had expelled the three studentsfrom their courses under the respective departments of the University with immediate effect. They were also asked to vacate their hostel within 24 hours from the issue of the notice of expulsion.
Since the Central University is an autonomous body, how far the district administration can intervene or interfere with the decision of the University authority? Moreover, it was a case of gross indiscipline and misconduct on the part of the studentsand the action taken by the University authority was quite in the fitness of things to maintain discipline and academic atmosphere, opined academic circles. (SentinelAssam)