18 ABVP members detained after vandalising Azim Premji University over Kashmir event protest
text_fields
Bengaluru: Police took 18 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members into custody Tuesday after they stormed Azim Premji University, vandalised property, and protested an unauthorised student event on the 1991 Kunan Poshpora incident—alleged mass rapes by security forces in Kashmir.
The RSS student wing claimed the gathering maligned the Indian Army as "anti-national" and accused the university of hosting Kashmir separatist sessions undermining national integrity. Protesters smeared signage with black ink, spray-painted walls, and assaulted security guards and a student who questioned them, forcing the victim to hospital.
Azim Premji University clarified it never authorised the event, which a small student group attempted but never held. Around 20 intruders entered at 6 pm, shouting slogans and causing damage before police intervened. The institute condemned the violence and reported it immediately.
Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural) Chandrakanth MV confirmed the detentions, noting no prior notice of the protest. "Citizens cannot take the law into their own hands," he said, adding police rushed to restore order.
ABVP demanded Home Ministry action against the student organisers and administration. University students later protested the intrusion, urging government crackdown on the ABVP.