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SP leader Akhilesh Yadav was to address University students at a program in Allahabad on that day, but the administration did not even allow him to board his flight from Lucknow. This led to Richa and other student leaders participating in a Peace March to protest the administrations heavy-handedness.  

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Richa Singh is a feisty former student leader and holds the distinction of becoming the first woman President of the Allahabad University Students Union in its 119 year history. She has been a constant thorn in the flesh for the Adityanath administration. She had earlier been subject to police brutality and institutional violence for protesting Adityanath’s visit to the University and showing him black flags.

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Former Allahabad University Students Union President Richa Singh who is also a member of the Samajwadi Party was attacked with several of her fellow students activists at the Universty of Allahabad. In an exclusive telephonic interview to Sabrang India, Richa Singh said, “They lobbed bombs on campus to spread fear among students. They also categorically told us to stop speaking against the Vice Chancellor.”

The entire interview may be heard here:

 
Brief background of the case
On Monday September 17, student leader Avinash Dubey released a Whatsapp chat between Prof Hangloo and the Delhi based woman. Shortly afterwards, Rohit Mishra, the former President of the AU Students Union and current National Secretary of ABVP, released a 35 minute audio recording of a conversation between Prof Hangloo and the woman.

In the recording a man (who Mishra claims is Professor Hangloo) offers to use his influence to get the Delhi based woman a job. Sometimes during the discussion, the man is alleged to have crossed boundaries of professional decency and engaged in inappropriate and objectionable conversation. There are allegedly many similarities between the contents of the leaked Whatsapp chat and the audio conversation. Mishra claims he has 17 more such tapes.

Meanwhile, the AU pulic relations officer Chitranjan Kumar said, “It is the matter of probe whether what has been made public by Mishra is authentic or someone has mimic the voice of the VC, the entire issue has to be thoroughly inquired as it is nothing but the conspiracy to malign the image of the VC”.

Attacks on Student Leaders
It looks like there is no respite for student leaders in India, as this attack comes just a day after student activists and newly elected office bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) were brutally attacked by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in New Delhi. Whatever the catalyst and whoever the perpetrator, it appears that under the present ruling dispensation, student leaders are an easy target and university authorities are either ill equipped to protect them or not particularly committed to ensuring their safety.

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File Photo
 
Allahabad: Richa Singh, former Student Union President of Allahabad University was arrested for protesting against the Hindi exam paper leak along with several other Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) aspirants yesterday.
 
The Hindi paper was to be conducted in the morning and an essay exam was to conducted in the afternoon. The papers were mixed up and the aspirants received the essay paper first instead. The students started protesting against the mix-up and asked for the exams to be cancelled. Sources say that they were pressurised to write the paper even though the wrong exam paper was distributed. They have also accused the police of using brute force in the form of lathi-charge after a public transport bus was set on fire nearby.
 
Speaking to Sabrang India, Ram Karan Nirmal, a lawyer in Uttar Pradesh aware of the incident, said that the students were protesting peacefully against the paper leak. “Students all over the state were resentful about how the exams were being conducted in the first place as they were not given any time to prepare. Many have come from all over to attempt these exams. When the news of leak started spreading, they were very angry. They formed a group and protested against the mix-up and asked for the exams to be cancelled. Richa Singh joined the protest but was arrested after police started the lathi charge. They have book students under serious allegations which are completely false and they are playing with the students’ futures. It’s wrong,” he said.
 
The exams were subsequently cancelled by the Lok Seva Aayog. “At Government Inter College Centre in Allahabad, candidates were served Essay question paper in the morning shift instead of General Hindi resulting in a protest from those appearing in the exams. Following the protest, UPPSC Secretary Jagdish announced the cancellation of Tuesday’s General Hindi and Essay paper. Other papers will be held as per the schedule. The date for the cancelled papers will be announced shortly,” said the UPPSC Secretary,” reported DNA.
 
The Citizen spoke to Richa Singh, while she was held in custody of the police. “I am in police custody at present, therefore cannot speak for long. The UPPSC was scheduled to hold a compulsory Hindi examination on June 19, 2018. The second meetings question papers were leaked in the first meeting in one centre, itself. Therefore, the students gathered together and made a simple demand to the UPPSC administration, that it should take a note of the fact and ensure that the administration ensures that none of the other papers are leaked, henceforth. The administration denied the request saying ‘we cannot guarantee that’. After the cancellation of the examinations, all students formed a human chain in front of the UPPSC office to peacefully protest, at around 7:00 pm in the evening yesterday. These are all students who are currently appearing for the examination. Suddenly, we noticed that one of the buses nearby was set up on fire, by few police officials present near the protest. We have the video with us. They set the bus on fire and then attacked the students and detained all of us from the spot. Seven of us were arrested, as several individuals have been brutally beaten up. They are all appearing for Mains, and most of them have serious injuries like a broken leg or a broken shoulder. Out of the seven people arrested, six are appearing for the exams tomorrow. They have an exam scheduled tomorrow and they have been held in the Civil Lines Police Station, even now. An FIR has been lodged against all of us, the entire blame of setting a public property on fire is put on me. They alleged that I set the bus on fire, and instigated protesters to agitate in front of the UPPSC office, yesterday evening. They have no evidence to prove what they state. Right now, they are letting the six students leave following their bail plea, while I am being sent to jail as my bail plea has been rejected. I request all of you to spread the word against this.”

 
The PCS (Mains) 2017 examinations are being held at 11 centres in Lucknow and 17 centres in Allahabad. The Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav had demanded to delay the exams as students did not get time to prepare due to the sudden announcement of exam dates. A few students had also filed a petition in Supreme Court with the same request but the apex court had refused to intervene and rejected their petition.
 

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Richa Singh, leader of the Allabad University Students Union speaking to Sabrangindia said that the police had misbehaved with the women protestors. She along with Pooja Shukla of the Lucknow University Students Union and Mohit Pandey have all been currently detained.

 
The protest peace march was organised to protest the violence against Dalits in Sahranpur and also the escalating crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh.

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Mohammed Zabir Injured Student of the Allahabad University

Richa Singh, President of the Union addressing students on Sunday, May 1

UPDATE on MAY 3:
According to a press note released by president of the union, Richa Singh, on May 3
 
• Several protesting students sustained severe injurious in a brutal police lathicharge
• There are attempts to falsely implicate, President Richa under serious charges by VC, Prof. Ratan Lal Hangloo
• Students have meanwhile resolved to further intensify the ongoing struggle against compulsory online application and online entrance exam
• The VC has been refusing to meet and engage with the elected student representative
 
On Monday, May 2, 2016, a brutal lathi charge was unleashed on peacefully protesting students and this, says Richa is ‘an attempt to suppress the ongoing protest movement against online admissions which excludes a large section of students from the rural and marginalised communities.’ The police was called in on orders of the Vice Chancellor, and the Chief Proctor in Allahabad University, allege the students. It is the Samajwadi Party (SP) that rules Uttar Pradesh (UP). Rucha Singh joined the SP recently.
 
According to the press release, the VC has also lodged false complaint against Richa Singh and other office bearers of the student union. They have been accused of rioting and vitiating the academic atmosphere of the university. VC has also constituted disciplinary committee to take action against protesting students.  She added, “I am not going to be intimidated by false charges of VC. In the coming days we are going to intensify the struggle. For that we are going to sit on indefinite hunger strike. Compulsory online application is against those who come from rural background and belong to marginalized community. Moreover, if other central universities like, BHU, AMU, Hyderabad University and JNU can have both the option of online and offline, they why not Allahabad University?” she asks

The story on May 2:

Allahabad University has joined the string of universities using police action against peacefully protesting students. A lathi charge, reportedly brutal has resulted in severe head injuries to 5 or 6 students. Richa Singh, Student Union president told Sabrangindia that this was the administration’s move to break up the united students protest.

Monday, May 2, all departments of the 128-year old Allahabad University were shut down. Even though examinations are on, the strike has been called in protest of the allegedly discriminatory admission policies of the University under the newly appointed Vice Chancellor. The firebrand and articulate first woman president of the Students’ Union, Richa Singh and her colleagues were lead a protest against the university’s decision to deny admissions to students unless they are applied to, online.

Vice Chancellor Rattan Lal Hangloo speaking to Sabrangindia denied the charges of the students.”For all the undergraduate courses, both the online and offline options are available,” he explained. “It is only in the post graduate courses, following the MHRD and UGC guidelines that we have implemented this. Two hundred students have no objection, there are barely 20 who are protesting,” he added. “The online system is better and cleaner, you eliminate corruption and caste etc,” he said.

On Saturday, April 30, protests against the University’s unilateral decision against compulsory online application form for those seeking admission in post graduate courses intensified. Students were demanding option for offline along with online as most of the students come from rural backgrounds.  A full-fledged meeting of the Students Union on Sunday sought and obtained a consensus of support from students, the press release has said.

President, Richa Singh told Sabrangindia, “When most of the central universities like BHU, AMU, JNU, Hyderabad University and others have both the options available for students then why is the same procedure –more equitable and accessible –followed by the University of Allahabad? It is more than needed in Allahabad University because it is located in a state which has 78% of a rural population. “ Making her point sharply she added that “making online application compulsory will prevent the entry of many, coming from rural background and from marginalised communities.”  The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has both online and offline procedures for admission for students.

Richa Singh through a press release alleged that as protests escalated over the week end, Vice Chancellor, Rattan Lal Hangloo actually went to the extent of trying to dissolve the Student’s Union and even rusticate the elected president. Within an hour of announcing this decision in a press release, however, the press release was withdrawn. This is not the end of the confrontation however. The administration under the new VC has been at loggerheads against the 29 year old first ever Woman’s President of the Union. political activities and programme inside the university campus.’ All manner of tactics and intimidations have been used against her, she alleges largely because she has succeeded in energising a campus seeped in a combination of gang wars, political vendetta, all bound by patriarchy. “Suddenly areas and spaces in the university that were inaccessible to us women have been opened up and it is like a breath of fresh air, :says Richa. 

Though the press release ‘rusticating ‘ Richa was withdrawn a ‘high powered committee’ has been constituted ‘to take disciplinary action against protesting student leaders.’ Student leaders have termed the act as an attempt to the dissolve student union for the purpose of curtailing the student voice and movement. The VC has also reportedly lodged criminal complaint against Richa Singh in police station. Richa further added, “This is an attempt to implicate me under false charges and is in continuity with the previous acts. I will not be intimidated.”  The VC has also ‘banned all kinds of Suspended Vice Chancellor, Appa Rao of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), Hyderabad has also since March 22 when unprecedented police action was unleashed on students, also ‘disallowed’ political activities on the campus.

Protesting students have alleged that when students went with their demand to VC, he not only refused to meet with the elected office bearers of the student union but also locked himself in his office. Against that, for more than two hours, students organized dharna in front of VC office but in vain.

Recently at a meeting in Mumbai Organised by the Youth Assembly Against Discrimination on April 23, 2016 Richa Singh had said, Like in 1942 We Told Britishers, Today We Tell RSS-BJP to Quit India”

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Watch: Student leaders welcomed with slogans

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