Panjab University students clashed with police during a march in Chandigarh against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with two protesters detained and later released after student organisations demonstrated against the action.
The march began at Panjab University’s Student Centre and moved towards Sector 17 Plaza, where police had placed barricades to stop the protesters. The confrontation occurred as the marchers attempted to proceed, according to a report by the Times of India. The protesters later gathered outside the Punjab Election Commission office in Sector 17 and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The demonstration was organised by Punjab Students Union (Lalkaar) along with the All India Students’ Association, Dialectica Students’ Association, Disha Students’ Organisation, Students for Society, PCS, PFUS, NSUI and Sath. The participating groups opposed the SIR process and raised concerns about its possible effect on people’s voting rights.
Two students were detained during the protest and were subsequently released following demonstrations by other students. The report did not provide details of charges, if any, against those detained or explain whether the police issued a formal account of the detentions.
The protesting organisations also alleged that police personnel manhandled students outside the election commission’s office. They further alleged that male police officers tore the clothes of female protesters and that no female police personnel were present at the location. These allegations were made by the protesting groups and were not independently established in the supplied report.
Addressing the gathering, Sarah, who represented Punjab Students Union (Lalkaar), alleged that the SIR process was being used to deprive people of their voting rights and to advance the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political agenda. She said protesters would continue to resist what they described as attempts to curtail democratic rights.
The incident places Sector 17, one of Chandigarh’s prominent public and administrative spaces, at the centre of a confrontation over electoral administration and the policing of political assembly. The supplied report does not include a response from the police, the Punjab Election Commission or the Chief Election Commissioner to the protesters’ allegations and demands.
