Tripura CM assures safety of 'harrassed' Odia students in Agartala

BHUBANESWAR: Following allegations of harassment by Odia students at the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Agartala, Odisha government on Thursday sent a team to Tripura to ensure safety of the students there. Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb also assured the state government that adequate safety and security will be provided to the Odia students and teachers at the deemed university.
“Students from Odisha are Tripura's children too.No anti-social activities shall be allowed on the land of Ma Tripursundari. I assure full protection for students from across India in Tripura,” tweeted Deb. He also mentioned in his tweet that he had spoken to union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and assured him of full safety of the Odisha students.
Videos of around 90 students and 10 teachers alleging harassment and torture by local people and students of the university and pleading for help made rounds in social media on Wednesday. They were seen crying and narrating their ordeal in the video and desperately urging the Odisha government to intervene and ensure their safety in Agartala.
“We did nothing harm to the students and got admission on the basis of merit and performance in the entrance examination. But the local students have been demanding our ouster from the university and also threatened us to go back to Odisha. They thrashed some students including girls,” said a student in the video message.
In a prompt action, Director General of Police (DGP) of Odisha R P Sharma tweeted that “I spoke with DGP Tripura and subsequently the SP visited and has assured security and help. I am closely monitoring the situation and in regular touch with the DGP there.”
The higher education department has sent a team comprising Radha Madhab Dash, vice chancellor of Sri Jagannath Sanskrit University, Puri and director higher education Parameswaran B to Agartala to resolve the matter. “We are very much concerned about the safety and security of our students at Agartala. We are in regular touch with the vice chancellor of the university and our team will do threadbare discussion on the matter and resolve the issue. They will also ensure safety of the students there,” said higher education secretary Bishnupada Sethi.
Among others president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Niranjan Patnaik and former MP Baijayant Panda urged the chief minister to intervene into the matter.