Congress MLA, party workers face FIR for protest inside university in Gujarat's Patan

Patan (Gujarat), Dec 17 (PTI) Congress MLA Kirit Patel along with his supporters and party workers were booked for allegedly assaulting policemen during their protest at the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University (HNGU) in Patan district over liquor consumption in the hostel, police said on Tuesday.

Patel is the sitting MLA from Patan.

After going through CCTV footage, an FIR has been registered with the Patan 'B' division police against Patel, former MLA of Siddhpur Chandanji Thakor and nearly 200 protesters, including Congress workers and members of its student wing NSUI, said a release by the district police.

Patel and others were booked under relevant sections of the new criminal code BNS, including 121-1 (causing hurt to a public servant to prevent them from performing their duties), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 224 (threat of injury to public servant), it said.

The opposition party's MLA and Congress workers on Monday held a protest at HNGU campus after no police case was registered against three youths caught drinking alcohol in a hostel room of the varsity on December 8.

Liquor consumption is illegal in Gujarat.

Three basketball players from Anand district, who were allotted a room in the boys' hostel by the administration ahead of their district-level tournament in Patan, were caught consuming liquor by the rector.

Patel claimed though the staff handed them over to the police, the trio was let off without any action.

During the protest, the MLA and some police personnel at the site indulged in a verbal duel after he was denied entry into vice-chancellor's KC Poria chamber.

In a video which went viral on social media platforms, Patel can be seen grabbing a policeman's face with his hand from across the grille outside the VC's office.

Following the opposition legislator's threat to sit on a fast outside VC Poria's chamber, the university administration wrote a letter urging Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to give necessary instruction to the local police to lodge a complaint. After this, the protest was called off. PTI COR PJT RSY