PAU turns police cantonment ahead of employees’ protest

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Tuesday turned into a police cantonment where the PAU Employees’ Union was to hold a protest against the suspension of an employee. The suspension was reportedly due to the employee’s confrontation with a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma, along anti-riot police force and cops in large numbers, reached the university around 7 am. Eighteen members of the employees union were detained.

Manraj, a member of the PAU Employees’ Union, said on April 19 late evening, Malkit Singh, an employee in the plant breeding department in the university, had a confrontation with the AAP leader of Ludhiana.

Malkit, after noticing a car parked on the university parking premises, reached near the car and on finding the AAP leader inside the car, questioned him about his purpose of staying inside the university in the late evening hours.

At this, the AAP leader allegedly turned furious and both had heated arguments. Malkit had raised the matter before the senior PAU officials to seek action against the person. “Instead of taking action against the person who trespassed in the university campus which as per university norms cannot enter the university during late hours, the Vice-Chancellor placed Malkit under suspension,” added Manraj.

Meanwhile, the university authorities have a different story to tell. According to them, the said employee was suspended as he failed to impart his duties in a fair manner as block-level officer during the elections and was placed under suspension by the government. “The issue of confrontation of the suspended employee with the AAP leader has been wrongly linked. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, who was present on the occasion, showed the suspension letter sent by the government,” said a PAU official.

Punjab