Six students of Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur, Kerala were suspended for organising a 'beef fest' to protest against Dadri lynching.
The college management, however, said that the students were suspended as they served non-vegetarian dishes inside the college, which is against the customs of the institution. "We are not against students' protests. But, in this case, I had warned students not to distribute beef within the campus and advised them to conduct the protest outside the college premises if they are so particular to do so," college principal CM Latha told PTI.
The college authorities were against serving meat at the college premises due to the presence of a temple in the college campus, another report said.
Ignoring the objections raised by the authorities, activists of SFI (Students' Federation of India, the student wing of the Communist Party of India - Marxist) decided to go ahead with the beef fest on 1 October. However, during the food distribution, supporters of SFI and ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, student wing of BJP) clashed with each other. The clashes broke out after ABVP supporters threw mud in the food, reports said.
Founded in 1947 by Rama Varma XV, the Maharaja of erstwhile Kochi State, the college is now managed by Cochin Devaswom Board, a socio-religious trust appointed by the Kerala Government to look after Hindu temples.
