ABVP, NSUI clash at Pune college ahead of Rahul Gandhi's student event

A clash broke out between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI) at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) hostel campus on Friday, ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'Chhatron ki Goonj' event scheduled for Saturday.

Pune Police has registered a complaint against NSUI students, including Pushkar Abanave, Bhushan Ranabhare, Akshay Jain, Saurabh Amrale, Sagar Dhadve, Prathamesh Abanave and 50 to 60 other NSUI students under BNS Sections 115(2), 189(1), 189(2), 191(2), 351(1), 352, and Maharashtra Police Act Sections 37(3) and 135. The First Information Report (FIR) was filed by ABVP activist Malhar Patil, a 19-year-old student from Aundh, at the Shivaji Nagar police station.

The incident follows the circulation of a video in which a female student alleged that NSUI volunteers were forcing students to attend the Congress event. According to the FIR, Patil and his ABVP colleagues went to the COEP hostel to inquire about the video, where they were allegedly abused and beaten up by the named NSUI members and others.

Congress youth leader Akshay Jain, who is also named in the FIR, said, "The FIR has been filed from their side. We have not registered any complaint, and the police have also not taken any suo motu action against the other group." Jain added that NSUI students had visited the campus to spread the word about the event when they encountered the student who had made the video. "The female student raised her issue of pending scholarship, saying that if the issue is taken up then we will attend the event. Thereafter, her issue was resolved with the ABVP group forcing her to make a video saying that NSUI forced her to attend the event," he claimed.

ABVP leader Atharva Kulkarni countered that the student had "exposed" the Congress, and in retaliation, about 150 NSUI students came to COEP and "thrashed" the girl. However, Congress students argued that in a TV clip, the girl spoke in support of the Congress, which became a point of contention. "Due to threats, she locked herself in her room, so Congress protested. Thereafter, the clash occurred," said Jain.

Prathamesh Abanave, vice-president of the Maharashtra Youth Congress, said, "A girl from COEP had given a byte to the media in favour of Rahul Gandhi. She has been tortured by ABVP goons. They went to her room and pressurised her. She locked herself in the room. So the Youth Congress reached there and protested. Then there were clashes. ABVP and police were pressurising the Congress workers."

Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also claimed that ABVP workers had threatened the two female students involved. In the video that surfaced, the girl is heard saying, "We were manipulated and pressured, and that is why I said about the exorbitant fees… so I apologise to the college."

Police have been deployed in large numbers on the campus following the incident. The 'Chhatron ki Goonj' event, where Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address students, is set to take place on Saturday evening.

The incident underscores the recurring tensions between ABVP and NSUI, student wings of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress respectively, particularly during politically significant events on college campuses.