Bhubaneswar: The authorities of Utkal University, with the help of city police, on Monday, conducted a raid in the varsity’s boys’ hostels and evicted outsiders who were staying illegally in the campus, an official of the institution said.
At around 10.30 am, Vice-Chancellor Jagneshwar Dandapat led a police team, which included a special force, into the hostels to evict the outsiders. Some of the illegal occupants had already fled, locking their rooms after learning of the raids.
The hostel superintendents and other staffers, in the presence of police personnel, broke open the locks of rooms in boys’ hostels 1, 2, 3, and 5 and removed the belongings of those residing illegally there. The rooms were then cleaned to prepare them for new students, the official of the varsity said.
University officials had identified approximately 170 outsiders illegally residing in the hostels. The police focused primarily on Hostel-3, where most of the unauthorized occupants were staying.
Odisha’s Higher Education Minister, Suryabanshi Suraj, stated that the eviction drive was being conducted to maintain a study-friendly environment on campus. He also mentioned that eight platoons of police force have been deployed on the campus to assist with the eviction drive.
The minister appealed to the former students and other outsiders to cooperate with the university authorities, emphasising that they too have a responsibility to ensure an academic environment.
Officials said that the drive was initiated because outsiders remained in the hostels despite a university issuing a deadline for them to vacate. Their presence had created security challenges, with reports of late-night disturbances and altercations that led to law and order issues.
