Students’ protest march against recruitment policy foiled; Cops prevent protesters from reaching secretariat; 50 students detained

Students’ protest march against recruitment policy foiled Cops prevent protesters from reaching secretariat; 50 students detainedArchit Watts/TNS

Jammu, November 9
On the first day of the Darbar reopening here after a gap of six months, the police converted the city into a fortress and used force to gag the voice of the student community, which had given a call for “secretariat chalo” today. Nearly 50 protesting students were detained when they attempted to go near the secretariat this morning.

The students had given the “secretariat chalo” call to express their anger and show black flags to ministers and MLAs of the coalition government over the new recruitment policy. According to the new policy, all new recruits (non-gazetted) would get 50 per cent of the basic pay for the first two years of service and 75 per cent for the next three years, without even any allowances.

Anticipating a massive demonstration outside the secretariat complex on the Shalamar Road here, the police had made adequate arrangements by deploying a large number of cops to thwart any protest bid by the students.

To ensure a peaceful reopening of the secretariat, especially as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had organised a meet-the-Press programme, all colleges and University of Jammu (JU) were also closed today.

Though the students made several attempts to reach the secretariat complex in small groups, men in khaki prevented them from doing so. The police bundled the students, including girls, into jeeps and buses to take them to various police stations.

Not a single student carrying placards depicting anti-government slogans and demanding revocation of the “anti-youth” policy could reach near the secretariat, as all of them were detained near the city chowk, a few metres from the secretariat complex.

Chaos and confusion prevailed outside the university and colleges, as their entry points were closed today. Though a few people were allowed to come out of these institutions, none was allowed to go inside, which led to minor scuffles between students and the police.

Some teachers were also barred from entering the university campus. The “hide and seek” between the cops and agitating students continued throughout the day. All senior functionaries of the state government remained on their toes to stop students from going near the secretariat.

Meanwhile, a few students belonging to the Progressive Students’ Association (PSA) and the Gujjar and Bakarwal Students Association were detained after a minor clash broke out between the protesters and the police on the university campus. The clash broke out when the students tried to go out of the campus.

Some students alleged that the cops detained their leaders late last night.