Daily Archive

Police forcibly dispersed a student demonstration in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on Wednesday, sparking a retaliatory riot and two more days of protests.

Students from the University of Allahabad, one of India’s oldest universities, were protesting the administration’s refusal to hold elections for AU’s student government, which was dissolved two years ago. Police charged the crowd wielding long wooden canes known as lathi, injuring more than a dozen demonstrators.

Students later took to the streets, vandalizing a number of cars parked in the area. On Thursday police returned to campus in an attempt to arrest 12 of the participants in the Wednesday protest, but left having taken only two into custody.

Students burned a minister in effigy on campus today as protests against the university and the police continued.

Sunday evening update: Protesting students briefly blocked railway tracks in Allahahabad on Friday, and demonstrations continued over the weekend.