HAU puts stipend cut on hold, but students refuse to relent
The deadlock between the administration of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) and the agitated students continues even after the university administration today decided to keep the stipend cut in abeyance.
The students, however, said that their main demands, including removal of the Vice-Chancellor and action against Registrar Dr Pawan Kumar and the Chief Security Officer Sukhbir Singh who were involved in the assault on the students, are still pending.
The students’ body spearheading the stir declared that the agitation would continue till all demands are met. Besides, many other security guards facing charges of assault in the FIR are yet to be arrested, they said.
The university administration today issued a press statement to announce the rollback of two controversial administrative decisions. An official order stated that the 93rd Amendment related to awarding stipend/merit stipend— issued on May 13 —has been kept in abeyance.
Besides, a corrigendum issued to confirm the status quo will be maintained for land development (LDV) seats as per the 2024–25 prospectus indicating that there will be no changes in this provision for the 2025–26 session, contrary to the earlier proposed amendment to Rule 6, Chapter V of the university prospectus.
Meanwhile, the Hisar police today produced accused assistant professor Radhe Shyam in court who was remanded to the judicial custody for 14 days.
In a related development, the Hisar police registered a case of online harassment and defamation at the cyber crime police station on a complaint filed by Geeta, a resident of Sadalpur who is a PhD scholar at HAU.
According to the FIR, Geeta was targeted on Instagram through a defamatory post and story published on June 14 by a user operating under the handle @dhadhichi. The post allegedly included her photo and tagged her Instagram ID @dr.godara29, accompanied by derogatory comments suggesting her involvement in political manipulation and undermining the student protests, the FIR stated.
The university also announced that the examination of the students would resume tomorrow and urged the students to appear in the examination. But the students on dharna announced to boycott the examinations. Sources, however, revealed that the university authorities have been trying their best to persuade some students to appear in the examination.
The district administration has invoked prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, to ensure peaceful conduct of exams at HAU.
An official order issued by District Megistrate Anish Yadav stated that the examinations, which were disrupted on June 12 and 13 due to protests, will now resume from June 16. To maintain law and order and to avoid any obstruction, the administration has banned the gathering of five or more persons and prohibited the carrying of weapons within a 200m radius of exam centres and university premises.
The order stated that some students were being intimidated and discouraged from appearing in exams due to the protest and warned against any kind of protest or assembly that could interfere with the examination process.
Haryana Tribune