Dumka: In an unprecedented move against anti-social elements hogging students� hostels, Dumka police here on Monday raided the hostel rooms on the premises of Santhal Paragana College and the Welfare Department and seized a cache of traditional weapons including bows and arrows, canes, spears and other lethal hand held weapons.
Cops also seized liquor bottles and several �objectionable� articles from the possession of several students. The administration has issued an order for closing the hostel sine die.
The deputy commissioner (DC) of Dumka Rahul Kumar Sinha and the superintendent of police (SP) Prabhat Kumar said the raid was aimed at freeing the hostel from the clutches of anti-social elements having nothing to do with academics.
�The hostel premises had become the hub of criminal activities for the last several months. We received numerous complaints about anti-social elements frequenting the hostel rooms and occupying them in an unauthorized manner. These same anti-social elements were disrupting law and order problem by sponsoring shutdowns, sit-ins and gheraos,� said the DC.
The DC said that some of the accused persons had set several vehicles ablaze in front of the college during Jharkhand bandh on 25th November last. �I have asked the college authorities to take steps to free the hostel and prevent it from becoming the centre of unlawful activities by identifying the culprits without delay,� he said.
The DC was informed by the principal of Santhal Paragana College that several former students had occupied the welfare department hostel in large numbers. As a result, genuine students are facing difficulty, he told the DC, adding that unauthorized occupants had been asked to vacate the hostel by 6 am today.
The administration ordered raids after the illegal occupants of the hostel failed to comply with the vacation order.
In order to conduct the raid, the DC and the SP had set up a team comprising magistrates, police officers and four squads of Rapid Action Force.
The DC said that a database of genuine students will be prepared in the next three days and hostel rooms will be allotted to them accordingly. Identity cards will be issued to genuine students. A joint team of welfare department and university officials will carry out the task.
The SP informed that four persons had been taken into custody for interrogation on the basis of photography and videography of the recent incident of arson during Jharkhand bandh.
