Three Odia Academics Kept Hostage In Tripura Reach Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Alleging harassment and physical assault by the local students and people, about 90 BEd students and 10 teachers of Odisha pursuing studies at the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan at Agartala in Tripura had desperately sought the urgent intervention of the Odisha government for their safety.

After being kept hostage by local students, three Odia Professors, Ramakanta Mishra, Mahesh Kumar Panigrahi and Jitendra Rayguru, reached Odisha on Thursday.

 “We were locked up in a room and denied food and water for 18 hours. The university authority asked us to leave Agaratala,” Professor Ramakanta Mishra was quoted as saying by national daily The Pioneer.

The local students were jealous of the merit strength of the Odia students and this was the root of all disputes, he added.

He also said despite 20 per cent quota reserved for Tripura, only two students had qualified the entrance test this year.

According to the sources, Odia students are not attending classes and living in fear outside the hostels.

Watch: Odia Students In Tripura Cry For Help

Notably, the panic-stricken Odia students and teachers had met the vice-chancellor of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan on September 20 and demanded action against the culprits.

“We have taken admission in the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan after clearing the entrance examination. But here the local students and people are harassing us. They have beaten up some of the boys and girl students and asked us to leave the institutions immediately failing which they have threatened to kill us. We request the Odisha government to come to our rescue as our life is at stake,” a girl student told the media at Agartala.

However, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday assured the Odisha government to provide adequate safety and security to the Odia students and teachers of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan.

Stating that the students from Odisha are also the children of Tripura, he made it clear that no anti-social activities shall be allowed on the land of Maa Tripursundari.

“I assure full protection of students from across India in Tripura,” Biplab said in a tweet. He also said that he had spoken to the Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and assured him of the safety of the Odisha students.