Student Groups Protesting Gang Rape of Minor Girl Clash in Jodhpur, Stones Pelted

Two student groups protesting the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old Dalit girl at a university hockey field here threw rocks at each other on Monday, officials said, prompting police to use force to disperse them.

The day was marked by a series of demonstrations in Jodhpur against the Sunday morning rape. Students affiliated with NSUI gathered at the central office of Jai Narayan Vyas University in the morning, demanding the installation of CCTV cameras and the repair of the campus boundary walls.

Officials said they also closed the main gate to the university as part of their protest. Later, when a group of ABVP students also arrived on campus and tried to enter while the slogans were being sung, an argument ensued.

The scuffle quickly turned violent and stone-throwing, after which the police moved into action and resorted to lathe charges to disperse them, the officials said, adding that three students were arrested.

They said that students associated with the ABVP also staged a protest at the Police Commissioner’s Office against the police statement that the defendants in the gang rape case were associated with the RSS Student Wing.

The officials further said that many students of KN Women’s College also gathered in the area compound during the day, calling for better security measures at the college.

Moreover, many Dalit organizations also took to the streets, demanding strict action against the accused in the gang rape case and compensation to the victim’s family.

On the other hand, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat condemned the incident and criticized the police for saying that the accused were associated with a political group.

He claimed that “under pressure from the government, the police linked the accused to a particular political group without any evidence.”

An underage girl who eloped with her boyfriend was allegedly gang-raped by three college students in front of him in Jodhpur in the early hours of Sunday.

The three accused, who crushed the victim’s boyfriend before taking turns raping her, were arrested hours after the incident.

A senior police official said on Sunday that the accused were looking for a student leader seeking a ticket from Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for the Student Union elections.

However, the League denied any connection with the accused.

The FIR is registered under the relevant sections of the Child Sexual Offenses Protection Act, the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)