Dibrugarh, July 16: The Dibrugarh University unit of the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) on Wednesday staged a two-hour sit-in demonstration, demanding a swift, impartial and high-level investigation into the alleged collection of large sums of money from students on the promise of securing admission to the BEd programme.
The protest was held at Jyoti Batsora, the main entrance of the university campus, where AASU leaders strongly condemned the alleged admission racket and called for exemplary punishment for all those found involved, irrespective of their political affiliation or influence.
The AASU leaders claimed that the students’ body had received credible information about an organised network allegedly collecting lakhs of rupees from aspiring students by promising them admission to the BEd course. Acting on the information, AASU informed the university authorities, following which the university administration lodged an FIR with the Rajabheta Police Outpost.
Based on the FIR, the police have arrested Madhurya Chetia, vice-president of the Dibrugarh University Postgraduate Students’ Union (DUPGSU), who has since been remanded to judicial custody. According to AASU leaders, the accused has allegedly disclosed the names of several other individuals during the course of the investigation.
Demanding a thorough probe into the alleged admission scam, AASU urged the district administrationto identify and arrest every person involved in the racket without delay. The organisation asserted that no individual, regardless of status or political patronage, should be spared if found guilty and called for stringent legal action against all those responsible.
The students’ body also alleged that even after elapsing nearly 10 days since the matter came to light, the police had failed to make significant progress in uncovering the wider network behind the alleged racket. AASU leaders alleged that the slow pace of the investigation had raised apprehensions that attempts were being made to dilute or suppress the case.
Warning against any laxity in the investigation, AASU stated that it would not tolerate any attempt to shield those involved. The organisation urged the district and police administration to expedite the investigation in a transparent and time-bound manner to safeguard the interests and academic future of thousands of students aspiring to pursue higher education at Dibrugarh University.
