Four students of Government Arts and Science College in Sholinghur were arrested after they clashed over a photo of BR Ambedkar in one of the students’ WhatsApp status on Tuesday, August 21. The police official said the situation was under control and the students were issued a warning and were released on bail, stated a report in The New Indian Express.
According to Vellore DIG, the two first-year BA English students of Sholinghur Government Arts and Science College — one belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community and the other from a dominant caste — were involved in a quarrel during college hours.
The disagreement arose when a student belonging to the SC community shared a photo of Dr Ambedkar on his WhatsApp status while his bench-mate from the dominant community allegedly questioned the choice, resulting in a heated exchange of words between the two.
Later, during lunch break, the SC student called his friends belonging to the same community and was involved in a small fight with the dominant community student. The fight later turned into a clash.
The college principal, Sujatha, said, "During the lunch break, an unexpected gathering formed near the college compound wall. The group stayed for a while and quickly grew from 10 members to 20. Despite attempts to prevent a confrontation, the situation escalated, forcing me to contact the police. As the police arrived at the spot, the group ran away in different directions."
She added, "I asked their fellow friends about the quarrel, and they replied that there is some backlash between the two. Despite our continuous efforts to instill discipline in these students, such incidents are happening. However, we are attempting to address this issue and may consider a week of suspension for the students involved."
The police said they reached the spot after receiving a video clip of the quarrel. "We are trying to figure out the outsiders who were on campus and got involved in the quarrel," they added.
