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Eleven Jaffna campus freshmen suspended

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 September 2003, 01:53 GMT]
Eleven first year students attached to the Arts and Commerce department of the University of Jaffna were suspended from attending lectures for allegedly bringing outsiders into the campus to attack senior students Friday night, local media reported.

The university administration Saturday banned members of public from entering the university premises as clashes between seniors and freshmen continued at the Parameswara road junction and inside the university premises Friday night for about six hours, sources said.

Mr. N.Rajani, a freshman at the Arts faculty and a native of Kilinochchi, has been admitted to the Jaffna teaching hospital with grievous injuries sustained in the Saturday clashes, the sources said.

Since the eruption of clashes between freshmen and senior students in the Jaffna University last week, three freshmen have been admitted to the Jaffna teaching hospital for treatment, police sources said.

The University administration's decision to prohibit the public from the university premises followed an investigation after complaints by some senior students, alleging that outsiders had been brought in to assault them.

Since then university security officers have been deployed to check the identity of visitors before entering the premises, sources said

Several posters were seen Saturday evening on the walls of the office of the Vice Chancellor, condemning the VC and his administration, and demanding immediate action against using outsiders to attack students inside the university premises, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Jaffna police Saturday started recording the statements of the injured students warded in the Jaffna teaching hospital, police said.