The Hindu : Front Page : Peaceful bandh in Madhya Pradesh

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Wednesday, Sep 06, 2006

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Peaceful bandh in Madhya Pradesh

Staff Correspondent

To protest Ujjain professor's death after alleged assault by students

— Photo: A.M.Faruqui

OFFERING CONDOLENCE: The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh consoling Himanshu Sabharwal (right) and his mother Prem Sabharwal in Ujjain on Tuesday evening. Himanshu's father Prof. H.S. Sabharwal was allegedly murdered during student council elections in a college in Ujjain.

BHOPAL: The response to the state-wide bandh call by the Congress on Tuesday to protest the death of Ujjain's Madhav College Professor H.S. Sabharwal was total.

Prof. Sabharwal died after an alleged assault by a group of student leaders, agitated by the cancellation of the students' union election on August 26. Following preliminary investigations by the State CID, two Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leaders were arrested and sent to judicial remand in a case registered under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

Barring a few stray and minor incidents reported from different parts of the State, the bandh was peaceful. Shops and other business establishments here and in other cities remained closed. Most private schools and colleges had already announced that they would remain closed in view of the bandh. Even in other educational institutions, the attendance was meagre. The public transport system was affected and roads wore a deserted look till afternoon.

According to information from Ujjain, there was tension in some parts of the city and there was heavy police presence to keep the situation under control. The Madhav College staff members observed Teachers Day as a black day. After paying homage to Prof. Sabharwal they marched in a procession wearing black bands.

Most of the teaching staff at Barkatullah University here also joined the protest by keeping away from the Teachers Day celebrations. The bandh affected normal life in Indore.

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