Violence in Law College,[Chennai November 13 ]

Four students were injured, one of them seriously, when two groups  of students clashed on the Dr. Ambedkar  Government Law College campus here on Wednesday.

Even as the student- who is said to have triggered the whole sequence of violent incidents when he entered the campus brandishing a long knife was being thrashed by a 15 member mob, the police remained unmoved just a few meters away. Through photo journalist who were clicking every bit of action, plead with the police to rush in and reuse the boy, their cries fell on deaf ears. The 90 Minute drama left four students grievously injured.

When asked why police hesitated to enter the campus, an official said they were waiting for permission from the college principal. A senior jurist, how ever, said that when a cognizable offence is being committed, that too in front of their own eyes, the law enforcing authorities need not wait for any permission. They can act without act without any complaint, even if it  occurs inside private premises, he said. “ it is only a convention that police should wait for permission form the college authorities, but nothing in law prohibits them from acting during violence,” admitted a senior education ministry official.

According to eyewitnesses and visuals the boy was attacked by the mob even after he stepped out of the  college campus. After the violence , the  police sealed all exit gates and trapped a group of about 60 students, including those who had unleashed violence earlier.

A police official said the genesis of the dispute was printing of some wall posters during the recent birth anniversary celebration of a national leader. A section of students he said protested the omission of another leader’s name in those posters another official, however, said it was essentially a clash  between hostel students and day scholars.