Students clash at university in Delhi over non-veg food on Maha Shivratri
A clash erupted between two groups of students at Delhi’s South Asian University (SAU) over the serving of non-vegetarian food in the university mess on the occasion of Maha Shivratri on Wednesday.
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused each other of inciting violence in the university.
The SAU administration has, however, not issued a statement yet, but the Delhi Police said that no formal complaint has been received. The university is conducting an internal inquiry.
A senior police officer said a PCR call was received at Maidangarhi Police Station around 3:45 pm regarding a quarrel at SAU. Upon arrival, officers found an altercation taking place in the mess.
“The video of a girl student being beaten up inside South Asian University is going viral on social media. The video is from Wednesday and there was an argument between two groups of students in the canteen over an issue related to food and then a fight broke out. The victim student informed the police by making a PCR call. Currently, the victim is being medically examined and facts are being verified,” Delhi Police said.
The Students’ Federation of India accused the ABVP of attacking the university students for not adhering to their demand to stop serving non-vegetarian food on Maha Shivratri.
“ABVP viciously attacked the students of South Asian University in the university mess because they were not complying with ABVP’s draconian and undemocratic demand that no non-veg should be served in the university mess owing to Maha Shivratri. ABVP goons are seen on video manhandling and attacking students in the mess. The goons grabbed the hair of women students and dragged them violently during the attack. They also attacked the mess staff for serving non-veg food,” SFI said in an official statement.
ABVP, however, countered the claims, alleging that SFI members forcibly attempted to serve non-vegetarian food in a mess designated for fasting students.
“A large number of students observed fast on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri at South Asian University. Respecting religious faith and tradition, these students had earlier requested the mess administration to arrange satvik food for them on this special day. Accepting this demand of the students, the university administration arranged satvik food in one of the two different messes. When satvik food was being served in the mess designated for fasting students, people associated with SFI tried to forcibly serve non-veg there,” the ABVP said in its official statement.
Purported videos of the clash have surfaced online. SFI Delhi also posted a video on its X handle, claiming that ABVP members attacked women students in the SAU mess.
