Specially abled students protest ABVP event at Lucknow university, allege assault

Hundreds of specially abled students protested at Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University in Lucknow over the organisation of an ABVP-affiliated PharmaVision programme on the campus, alleging that the student body had been banned from the university and that protesters were assaulted when they objected to the event.

PharmaVision is a nationwide forum of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) that connects pharmacy students, researchers, academicians, and industry professionals.

According to the students, an event was organised at the university’s auditorium which undermined the institution. They claimed that the event banner carried only the ABVP logo and did not feature the university’s logo.

Students, including Rakesh Malik and Bhakti Garg, alleged that specially abled students were prevented from entering the programme. They further alleged that some students were assaulted when they protested against being denied entry.

The allegations could not be independently verified.

As the protest grew, police personnel and senior officers reached the university and attempted to pacify the students. The protesters, however, demanded that the programme be stopped and that the alleged assault be investigated. Police subsequently surrounded the protesters and restricted their movement to one location.

The demonstration continued outside the auditorium and at the university gate, with students raising slogans against the university administration and police.

The situation remained tense until around 10 pm, according to the account provided by the students.

The protest centred on the 13th national convention of PharmaVision. The two-day convention is being held at the university on 26 and 27 September and has drawn 779 participants from different parts of the country, including 465 students and 311 female students. A delegation from Nepal is also participating.

The organisers had said before the event that the convention would focus on pharmacy education, research and professional issues, with competitions and activities including quizzes, model and poster presentations, Pharma-preneur sessions and a youth parliament.

The inaugural session was attended by Uttar Pradesh transport minister Dayashankar Singh, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, university officials and senior ABVP and Pharma Vision functionaries. The convention formally began at the university on Saturday.

The student protesters have demanded an inquiry into the alleged assault and questioned how the event was allowed to take place on the university campus despite their claim that ABVP activities had been prohibited.