Four students at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) were left injured after a brawl broke out during a protest held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against "objectionable" graffiti on Prime Minister Narendra Modi found painted inside a hostel of the university.
The incident took place on Friday afternoon, November 3, near the university's main building, which houses its administrative office, a PTI report said.
"In response to the objectionable graffiti on the prime minister found inside the hostel, hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters staged a protest at the university on Friday. However, the protest turned violent when four students of a Left-wing outfit visited the protest site," a police official said.
During the said protest, a brawl broke out in which the four students who belonged to the New Socialist Alternative were injured. The police later detained these four students and released them in the evening, the official further added.
What happened
According to police, graffiti against PM Modi inside the hostel was found on Thursday.
BJP's Pune city unit President Dheeraj Ghate said, "The objectionable content against our PM Narendra Modi is not at all acceptable. Many students who are not part of the SPPU are roaming inside the campus. We demand stringent action against those who painted the objectionable graffiti against our PM. Pune is the capital city for education. We will not let our university become a JNU."
An official of Chaturshringi police station said a case was registered on Friday under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 500 (defamation) against an unidentified person for allegedly painting the graffiti.
Video goes viral
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media shows the four students of the Left-wing group carrying flags of their organisation at the BJP's protest site, added PTI.
When BJP workers raise the 'Bharat Mata ki jai' slogan, these four students shout the 'Inquilab Zindabad' slogan. Following this, the protesters surround these four students and beat them up, the video shows.