The Telangana Police has registered a first information report against nine students from the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad after a scuffle during a pro-Palestine protest on campus on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported.

Among those booked are six students linked to the students’ union of the university and three from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The RSS is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The clashes had erupted during a protest organised by the students’ union, comprising the Students Federation of India, the National Students Union of India, the Fraternity Movement and the Telugu Students’ Federation, against the war on Gaza, The News Minute reported.

While the Students’ Federation of India is affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the National Students Union of India is the student wing of Congress.

After the scuffle, the students’ union stated that a “peaceful” pro-Palestine march had been organised at Sagar Square on the university campus on Tuesday evening.

“After the demonstration dispersed, members of the ABVP gathered there, raising slogans and tearing down the remaining Palestine flag and posters,” the statement alleged. “The vandalism drew students from all groups, leading to a standoff where ABVP members began manhandling opposing students.”

The students’ union further accused the police of aiding the ABVP and “ignoring the initial vandalism and assault”.

“With police support, ABVP cadres then dragged a student wearing a Keffiyah, who was subsequently detained by the police,” it added.

A Keffiyah is a traditional scarf from West Asia that has become a Palestinian symbol of resistance.

The students’ union said that a march was then organised towards the main gate of the campus to protest the “police’s bias, where the situation severely deteriorated”.

It accused the police officers of using “excessive force, with male officers manhandling female student leaders (including the Union vice president and joint secretary), using derogatory language, and threatening individuals with FIRs”.

The union alleged that a police officer also waved a gun while dispersing the students.

On the other hand, the ABVP claimed that the protest was against India’s “neutral stand in the Palestine conflict”, The Indian Express reported. The outfit said that its members shouted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” to stand in solidarity with India’s foreign policy.

The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Osmania University Police Station Sub-Inspector R Jaya Chandar, The News Minute reported.

In his complaint, Chandar claimed that he attempted to disperse the crowd “peacefully but they were unwilling to heed his instructions and continued creating nuisance for about one hour more”.

He added that a former student of the university was detained on Tuesday night. The 22-year-old was “shouting slogans supporting Palestine, displaying a Palestine flag” and provoking the students, which further escalated the situation, claimed Chandar.

Chandar said that he, along with a few other police officers, fell to the ground while they tried to manage the crowd, The News Minute reported.

“I request that necessary action be initiated against the above-mentioned students who created nuisance, obstructed and assaulted police personnel while performing legitimate duties, and caused public disorder and enmity between two groups by supporting another country and defaming India,” the news outlet quoted the complainant as saying.

The case was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant to prevent them from discharging their duty, promoting enmity and disharmony between different groups, obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their official duties and unlawful assembly.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on besieged Gaza since then, leaving more than 67,000 persons dead.

In August, the United Nations formally declared a famine in northern Gaza. In September, a commission of inquiry set up by the UNI said that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel called the report “distorted and false”, and demanded that the commission be immediately abolished.

Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks since July. Earlier efforts to reinstate a brief ceasefire that took effect in January had stalled due to disagreements between the two sides.

‘Such events against national interest’: EFLU

Meanwhile, English and Foreign Languages University on Wednesday said that no permission had been taken for the pro-Palestine protest on the campus a day earlier, The Hindu reported.

In a statement, the university warned students that such events were “against national interest”. It also objected to the banner “EFLU is with Palestine” and the display of Palestinian flags on the campus.

Condemning the incident, the university said that an inquiry would be conducted with relevant proceedings as per its ordinances and regulations.

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