Patna: Students attached to AISF shut parts of Patna University on Thursday as they intensified their agitation over a 10-point charter of demands. The protesters first shut university offices, switched off lights and locked the Academic Council office before moving to departments, classrooms and other facilities, calling for a university-wide shutdown.The students had been on an indefinite hunger strike for four days, demanding action over the alleged paper leak in the LLB entrance examination, rollback of the steep increase in postgraduate fees and launch of the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) course, which they said had not started. They also raised other student-related demands.The shutdown followed an inconclusive meeting with Vice-Chancellor Prof Ajay Kumar Singh on Wednesday. He had called the hunger-striking students for talks, following which a five-member AISF delegation reached his office. The two sides held lengthy discussions but failed to reach an agreement.AISF student Bittu Bhardwaj said the students had met the VC after surrounding him on Wednesday, but the talks yielded no result. He alleged the VC had “dodged” the issues and had not agreed to any of their demands. He said the students decided to shut the university after the talks failed.On Thursday, protesters locked the Academic Council and entered classrooms, asking students to leave. In some cases, classes were shut in the presence of teachers. The students also reached the Urdu department and Patna College’s Commerce College and shut both before moving towards the library and Darbhanga House.AISF members raised slogans of “Long Live Student Unity”, while some Patna College students also supported the agitation.Student Dev Pathak compared the protest with recent Gen-Z protests and said, “When Gen-Z started protesting, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. Therefore, the VC of PU should also resign.”AISF student Sabina joined the protest carrying a drum. She said the university was shut because their demands had not been accepted. She alleged the VC was trying to “get his way by making excuses” instead of addressing their concerns. Questioning the fee hike, she said students barely managed to attend the university and could not afford repeated increases. “We do not want a VC like this,” she said.AISF Patna district secretary Mir Saif Ali said student support had grown since Wednesday. He said students completing undergraduate courses could face difficulties pursuing postgraduate studies because of increased fees. Alleging a “dictatorial attitude” by the VC, he demanded his immediate removal.Ali appealed to the university administration to resolve the 10-point demands at the earliest and warned the agitation would intensify if no positive action was taken.Pirbahore Police reached the university after the shutdown began. An argument broke out between police and hunger-striking students, but the protest continued. The situation later remained peaceful, with students staging a sit-in on campus.SHO Raj Kumar Singh said the students had staged a protest and were subsequently sitting peacefully. “There was no law and order situation. A police team was present on the university campus,” he said.
