Patna University Elections Turn Violent: 8 Students Arrested in Late-Night Raids
In a dramatic crackdown on escalating campus violence, police arrested eight students during late-night raids at Patna University's Minto Hostel on Thursday. The operation was launched to quell clashes between rival student groups ahead of the highly anticipated Patna University Students' Union (PUSU) elections scheduled for February 28.
Heavy Security Deployment Across Campus
Authorities have deployed heavy security forces across the entire university campus to prevent further outbreaks of violence. According to police officials, the election atmosphere has turned increasingly volatile, with rival factions engaging in confrontations to establish dominance and create an atmosphere of intimidation.
City Superintendent of Police (Central) Bhanu Pratap Singh, who led the operation, stated that police received multiple complaints about group clashes in recent days. "The administration decided to act decisively to maintain peace and order," Singh emphasized.
Details of the Police Operation
The police action began after authorities received specific information on Wednesday about potential disturbances. Forces from several nearby police stations, including Pirbahore, along with additional personnel from Police Lines, were immediately dispatched to the university premises.
"The intensive search operation conducted late at night at Minto Hostel led to the arrest of eight students," SP Singh confirmed. "All of them were found in an intoxicated state after consuming alcohol."
The detained students have been identified as:
- Sahil Kumar alias Vishnu
- Lalit Siddharth
- Ayush Kumar
- Atul Kumar
- Arun Kumar
- Gunjan Kumar
- Makardhwaj Upadhyay
- Rohit Kumar
Police revealed that one of the arrested students has a prior criminal record involving a bomb-related case registered at Pirbahore police station. All detained individuals are currently being questioned, with further legal proceedings underway.
University Administration's Response
The university administration has emphasized that ensuring a peaceful and fair election process remains its top priority. Additional police forces have been strategically positioned across the campus, and authorities are continuously monitoring the situation to prevent any further disruptions.
Nearly 20,000 eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots for key positions including president, vice-president, general secretary, joint secretary, treasurer, and councillors on February 28. Police have confirmed that raids and monitoring across university hostels will continue in the coming days to curb unlawful activities and ensure a disruption-free election period.
Additional Election Tensions Surface
Meanwhile, tensions further escalated in the PUSU election buzz when presidential candidate Anchal Kumar was detained by police outside Patna Women's College (PWC) on Thursday. The detention followed a dispute over ticket allotment by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a prominent student organization.
Kumar, who had already filed his nomination, allegedly questioned ABVP's decision to award the presidential ticket to another female candidate. Following this disagreement, he and his supporters reportedly created disturbances at the ABVP office, protesting the denial of the ticket despite their prior nomination efforts.
ABVP officials alerted police about the disturbance at their office, after which a police team detained Kumar from outside PWC—one of the key centers of student activity under Patna University.
The university administration and police authorities have reiterated their commitment to maintaining law and order throughout the election process, with SP Singh stating that "further investigation is in progress" regarding all recent incidents.
