Archive · 22 Aug 2026
Pune College Clash Escalates Ahead of Rahul Gandhi Event
Two student groups argued and clashed at a college hostel in Pune.
The groups were the National Students’ Union of India and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
The incident happened before Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to meet students.
Two female students had spoken about scholarship concerns and the event.
Congress and NSUI representatives said ABVP members threatened, beat or confined the students.
ABVP denied this and said Congress and NSUI workers pressured students to attend the programme.
A video later showed one student saying she had felt manipulated and pressured during an earlier visit by NSUI and Congress activists.
Police came to control the gathering.
The competing allegations have not been independently verified.
ABVP and NSUI members clashed at the COEP Technological University hostel campus on Friday night.
The confrontation occurred before Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj student interaction programme in Pune.
Congress and NSUI representatives alleged that two female students were threatened and confined after discussing scholarships and supporting the event.
ABVP denied the allegations and claimed Congress and NSUI workers pressured students to register for or attend the programme.
Police deployed personnel to disperse the gathering, while allegations from both sides remained independently unverified.
- Who
- Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and National Students’ Union of India were involved, along with Congress representatives and two female COEP students.
- What
- A confrontation and clash took place amid competing allegations about threats, confinement, pressure to attend an event and student statements about college fees and scholarships.
- When
- Friday night, one day before Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled student programme; the reports refer to the programme as an August 22 event. A video mentioned an earlier NSUI-Congress visit on August 20.
- Where
- The hostel campus of COEP Technological University in Pune.
- Why
- The groups disputed whether students were being threatened for supporting the programme and raising scholarship concerns, or pressured by Congress and NSUI workers to attend it.
Congress and NSUI Account
ABVP Account
Treatment of the female students
Congress and NSUI Account
Congress and NSUI representatives alleged that ABVP workers threatened, beat or forcibly confined two female students after they spoke about scholarship concerns and supported Rahul Gandhi’s programme.
ABVP Account
ABVP denied the allegation and claimed that NSUI workers entered the hostel premises and pressured female students.
Pressure surrounding the programme
Congress and NSUI Account
Congress representatives said the students were highlighting scholarship grievances and should be free to express their views and attend the event without fear.
ABVP Account
ABVP alleged that approximately 100 to 150 Congress and NSUI workers pressured students to register for or attend the programme, and that students who intervened were assaulted.
Meaning of the student’s video
Congress and NSUI Account
Congress-NSUI representatives described the students’ statements as expressions of genuine scholarship concerns and support for the programme.
ABVP Account
A video showed one student saying she had been manipulated and pressured during an earlier visit by NSUI and Congress activists, which supported ABVP’s broader account. The circumstances of the video were not independently established.
Police conduct
Congress and NSUI Account
Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that police also beat assembled students and demanded action against those responsible.
ABVP Account
Police personnel were reported to have attempted to disperse the gathering and control the situation; the allegation that police beat students was not independently verified.
- Location
- COEP Technological University hostel campus, Pune
- Groups involved
- Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Congress representatives and associated youth organisations
- Related event
- Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj student interaction programme
- Police response
- Police reached the hostel and deployed personnel to disperse the gathering and restore order.
- Congress-NSUI allegation
- Two female students were allegedly threatened, beaten and forcibly confined after discussing scholarship concerns and supporting the programme.
- ABVP allegation
- Around 100 to 150 Congress and NSUI workers allegedly entered the campus and pressured students, including female students, to register for or attend the programme.
- Student video
- One student said in a video that she had been manipulated and pressured during an earlier NSUI-Congress visit and apologized to the college.
- Scholarship concern
- One report said some COEP students reportedly had not received scholarships for three years.
