The University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Thursday issued suspension orders to ten students, and said that the suspension period of seven students, for allegedly manhandling varsity staff, has been reduced to six weeks from six months.
However, there was no change in the two-year suspension period of three other students.
The university had suspended ten students for "preventing officials from discharging their duties and verbal assault."
"After due deliberations, the Executive Council decided to reduce the suspension period of seven students from six months to six weeks. With respect to three students whose suspension was for two years, the EC took a serious view of their actions and blatant disregard of the University rules, and confirmed the earlier order," the administration said in a release.
In both the cases, the students will not be entitled to hostel admission upon resumption of their studies, the university said.
“Some students who have been awarded punishments have even submitted in writing that they reject the University’s rules, including the hostel manual. Such incidents cannot be taken lightly,” a university official was quoted as saying.
The suspended students then protested outside the university, drawing similarities between their 'punishment', and the one meted out to PhD scholar Rohith Vemula.
26-year-old Rohith Vemula was suspended in 2015, along with four other students, following allegations of assault by an ABVP leader.
He went on to pen a moving suicide note, before hanging himself in a hostel room, thereby sparking a massive Dalit youth movement across the country.
Background
It all began on the night of November 3, when a hostel warden and deputy chief warden, along with security guards, raided the men’s Hostel-J in the university. The raid was conducted after a reported tip-off that a girl was staying at the hostel, which is against the guidelines of the administration.
Irked by the move, students gathered at the spot and accused the authorities of moral policing. The administration alleged that the students then turned off the lights and physically assaulted the officials.
Following the protest, a committee was formed, which suspended three students for two years and the rest of the students for a period of six months.
A student from the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) had also been suspended.
Students have dismissed the university's claims.