A week after clashes, `insecure` students want to leave Srinagar NIT campus

Srinagar: Expressing a sense of insecurity, some students of NIT Srinagar hailing from other states today attempted to leave the campus that witnessed a clash last week but their bid to do so led to a confrontation during which police resorted to lathicharge.

A group of non-local students wanted to leave the NIT premises and return to their home states, saying, they were "not feeling safe" inside the campus, a police official said.

The police official said security personnel on duty at the NIT tried to reassure the students that they were safe inside the campus but they were not pacified.

As the head of the security deployment was speaking to them, a few of the students allegedly resorted to sloganeering and even pushed him around, the official said.

He said the other police personnel then resorted to "lathicharge" to disperse the students who were "getting violent".

The situation, however, was brought under control shortly, the official said.

In Delhi, HRD ministry officials said they were in touch with the management of the institute and the Director of the NIT has spoken to the students so that normalcy prevails.

On Friday last, the campus had witnessed clashes between local and non-local students over India's defeat in the semi-final match in the World T20 tournament.

After the clashes, the NIT authorities had shut down the institute which was reopened yesterday.