Patna: Police on Wednesday raided various Patna University hostels following complaints that some "boarders" were demanding subscription money from traders ahead of Saraswati Puja. But the police found nothing in the raids.
Minto and Jackson hostels are undergoing renovation for the past two years and this year too, the college administration has not allotted rooms to students. But sources said some students and also those who have passed are living illegally there.
The police had received complaints that students claiming to be boarders of Minto, Jackson and New hostels had threatened businessmen over subscription money. "A few days back, some businessmen complained to Bahadurpur and Pirbahore police stations, saying some students claiming to be Patna University hostel boarders, were demanding subscription fees for puja," Pirbahore police station house officer (SHO) Gulam Sarwar said. "Based on the complaint, the police raided Patna College's Minto, Jackson and New hostels.
"Though the hostel rooms at Minto and Jackson have not been allotted to anyone, some students are living there illegally," a senior teacher at Patna College said on condition of anonymity. "The police have raided the hostel premises on several occasions, but the students run away during the raids and return later."
Though the number of students living illegally in the hostels is not that big, sources said these students join hands with outsiders to create law and order problems.
"Clashes between boarders and outsiders over subscription fee for Saraswati Puja will go up till January 22," said Ankit Raj, a second year history student at Patna College.
The college administration has decided to tighten security this year. "As no rooms have been allotted at Minto and Jackson, our primary focus is to upgrade security at these hostels so that no outsiders enter the campus," Patna College hostel superintendent Randhir Kumar Singh said. "We will request police to deploy personnel so that outsiders don't enter the premises."
A crude bomb had gone off at a Patna College hostel when boarders were holding a feast after Saraswati Puja last year.
