Even as tensions ran high in the University of Hyderabad (UoH) campus on Thursday on account of B R Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary, a Dalit PhD student from the English and Foreign Languages University (Eflu) campus in Hyderabad alleged that he was dragged out of campus.
Koonal Doogal, who is with the cultural department, claimed that he was dragged out by security guards for speaking out against atrocities on Dalit students.
The Hindustan Times reported:
Koonal, who hails from Delhi, is pursuing his PhD on “caste and religious politics in contemporary Punjab”. Associated with the Dalit Adivasi Bahujan Minority Association (DAMA), Koonal is also working as a guest faculty at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) where Rohith Vemula studied.
"When I questioned them why I was being taken away, they informed me that they had got orders from the chief security officer. When I asked for the order copy, the chief security official failed to produce one," Doogal told the Times of India.
(Koonal Doogal)
Following this, the student filed a police complaint against proctor Prakash Kona, with the Osmania University police.
In response, EFLU's chief security officer is also reported to have filed a case of trespassing on Doogal.
In his response to TOI, Kona said:
Although he submitted his thesis in September last year, he has been a key member in a lot of anti-university activities. I sought permission from the vice-chancellor and restricted his entry into the campus. Therefore, his entry into the EFLU campus, which includes the hostels, is strictly prohibited except with the permission of the proctor.