Clash between ABVP and NSUI workers at COEP hostel in Pune

The clash took place at the COEP hostel in Shivajinagar on Friday evening. Police were called to the spot and detained several people involved in the incident.

PUNE: Tensions flared between ABVP workers and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) members outside the hostel gate of COEP Technological University ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's scheduled 'Chhatron ki Goonj' event in Pune. The clash took place at the COEP hostel in Shivajinagar on Friday evening. Police were called to the spot and detained several people involved in the incident.

Pune DCP Hasan Gauhar said on Friday night, "We received information about a clash between two groups. Upon reaching the spot, we found some people raising slogans and attempting to block the road; they were detained. Further investigation is underway."

Meanwhile, Pune Police registered a case against six named persons and around 50-60 alleged NSUI and Youth Congress workers in connection with an alleged assault on an ABVP student at the COEP hostel, police said on Saturday. The case was registered at Shivajinagar Police Station on the complaint of 21-year-old student Malhar Nilesh Patil. According to the complaint, a video statement of a student was allegedly taken under pressure at the COEP hostel on Friday. Patil, along with ABVP members, reportedly went to the hostel to inquire about and discuss the matter.

The complainant alleged that when they reached the hostel, Pushkar Aavnave, Bhushan Ranbhire, Akshay Jain, Saurabh Amrale, Sagar Dhadve and Prathamesh Aavnave, along with around 50-60 workers associated with NSUI and Youth Congress, allegedly abused and assaulted him. Police registered the case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 115(3), 189(2), 189(3), 190(2), 351(2) and 352, along with Sections 37(3) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act. The incident allegedly took place between 8.30pm and 11pm on Friday at the COEP hostel in Shivajinagar, Pune. Police said further investigation is underway.

The PTI report said the FIR was registered against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers based on a complaint lodged by an ABVP member. It said the complainant alleged that Congress workers were forcing female students of the institute to register for the Chhatron ki Goonj event and pressuring one of them to record a video statement. ABVP members visited the hostel to inquire into the matter when Congress workers allegedly verbally abused and assaulted them, the complaint stated.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who visited the hostel after the incident, claimed that ABVP workers were threatening the two female students. Akshay Jain, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress (Media Department), had said that the incident was "extremely unfortunate". The two female students had raised concerns over their scholarship issues and supported the Chhatron ki Gunj event, he said.

Outside the hostel gates, ABVP workers had sloganeered against Rahul Gandhi on Friday and attempted to block the road in protest. Following the incident, Maharashtra Youth Congress posted on X, accusing the ABVP workers of harassing women in the city's colleges and asserting that Congress workers were ready to confront them. "Just before Rahul Gandhi ji's historic Pune Rally, ABVP's goons are going to colleges and hostels, threatening our daughters, holding them hostage, beating them up, but now they shouldn't dare to make this mistake, because Congress workers are now ready to give them a reply in their own language," the post read.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday invited women to participate in the 'Chhatron ki Goonj' programme in Pune, saying the event would provide a platform to discuss their experiences, concerns and challenges. The programme will be held at AISSMS College Ground in Pune and will focus on understanding the issues faced by Indian women. He said he had earlier asked women in his team to share their thoughts on what it means to be an Indian woman and how society treats them. "I decided that I would ask the ladies in my team about what their thoughts are on being Indian women. And so we did this little exercise where each one of them put out, over 20-30-40 minutes, exactly how they felt being an Indian woman, how society treated them, the good things, the bad things," the Congress MP said.

He said women would be asked about issues including how society treats them, how fear is used against them, the violence they face and where they experience it. He shared some responses received from women, including concerns about control being presented as care, early marriage, patriarchy, moral policing, lack of safety and medical facilities, and restrictions on their choices. "My team decided, why not open this to everybody and make it accessible, and let's ask the women who are going to be coming to this programme, the women who are going to see this programme, what they feel about being an Indian woman. What does society do to them? How is fear weaponised against them? What type of violence do they face? Where do they face this violence? How does it make them feel as citizens of this country? We got some wonderful answers, profound answers. .." he said. He invited women to join the conversation in Pune and said such discussions were important to understand and improve the situation of Indian women. The event is going to take place today at the Mahamahila Rally in AISSMS College Ground, Pune.