In Patna, pro-quota students go on rampage

Snehil Jaiswal / TNN / May 20, 2006, 00:57 IST

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The reservation row across the country took an ugly turn on Friday when pro-quota medical students went on a rampage.

In Patna, pro-quota students go on rampage

PATNA/NEW DELHI: The reservation row across the country took an ugly turn on Friday when pro-quota medical students went on a rampage and fought a pitched battle with police and mediapersons in Patna, leaving scores of people injured.
In other parts of the country, anti-quota protests continued with medical services in hospitals deteriorating with each passing day.
In Patna, police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse an irate mob of pro-quota protesters at the Dak Bungalow crossing. Traffic movement was disrupted.
Around noon, more than a hundred pro-quota agitators marched towards the Dak Bungalow crossing. Two anti-riot vehicles and policemen followed them.

The agitators appeared to be in a violent mood as they carried lathis to disrupt the traffic flow towards Bailey Road, New Dak Bungalow Road and Exhibition Road.
The protesters damaged about a dozen cars, including those parked outside The Times of India building. At Dak Bunglow crossing they targeted mediapersons and television crew and started beating them with sticks.
The students charged the media and police with being "hand-in-glove". The police then had to resort to lathicharge...

...
City SP Vikas Vaibhav said, "At least 12 policemen were injured and they were undergoing treatment." "The lathicharge became inevitable to disperse the agitators," said a policeman.
The protesters later went to the Patna Medical College and Hospital, where they closed the emergency ward. Again the police had to resort to lathicharge.
"Many students suffered injuries. Even girl students were not spared. The incident is really unfortunate for everybody," PMCH superintendent A K Pandey told The Times of India.
IMA's state vice-president Sahajanand Singh condemned the assault on mediapersons and said a high-level panel should be formed to probe the matter.
Patna DM B Rajender said the possibility of involvement of anti-social elements in the incident could not be ruled out.
The anti-quota protesters got a shot in the arm when Hyderabad's anti-quota techies wore black shirts on Friday.
"Black Friday" was Hyderabad's first open gesture of protest. The move was led by the culmination of emails circulated among employees of top MNCs.
At Oracle, at least 40% of the employees came to office wearing black shirts.
Around 250 senior resident doctors of PG Institute for Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh burnt the "termination of service" notices issued to them by the management.
About 70 students of Patiala medical, dental and ayurvedic colleges left for Delhi to support the agitating anti-quota students.
President IMA Punjab G S Gill and D S Bhullar, chief of IMA Patiala, flagged off the contingent.
Hundreds of junior doctors and students in West Bengal joined a relay hunger strike at the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital. In Jaipur, protesting medicos resorted to sweeping streets.
Students of Cuttack's S C B Medical College condemned the support extended by Orissa health minister Duryodhan Majhi to the proposed quota hike.

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