Tension flared up at the main campus of Calicut University (CU) in Tenhipalam, Malappuram district, on Tuesday afternoon, July 8, as members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) staged a protest march against what they alleged were attempts by Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to “saffronise the higher education sector” in the state.

As per a report by The Hindu, the protest escalated when students tried to force their way into the university’s administrative building, attempting to break open the doors.

Police intervened and blocked their entry, resulting in a heated face-off. After a brief scuffle and exchange of arguments, the students managed to get inside the building and staged a protest for nearly an hour.

Meanwhile, another group of SFI activists rushed to Vice-Chancellor P Raveendran’s official residence, scaled the compound wall, and staged a sit-in after discovering he was not present. A separate group broke into the office of the VC’s personal staff and also began a sit-in protest.

In the VC’s absence, the students held discussions with Syndicate members K Pradeep Kumar, K Mohammed Haneefa, and T Vasumathi. The protest was eventually called off after the Syndicate members assured the students that an inquiry would be launched into the alleged irregular grant of marks to a Kerala Students Union (KSU) activist at Government Victoria College, Palakkad.