Show-Cause Notice To Madhya Pradesh College After Massive Campus Uprising

After violent unrest shook VIT University in Sehore district, the Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Department has finally issued a show-cause notice to its management. The university management has been given seven days to explain serious violations. Unsatisfactory replies would see the department initiating disciplinary action under Section 41(2).

The notice is based on a damning report submitted by the three-member inquiry committee of the MP Private University Regulatory Commission. NDTV has accessed the report that reveals disturbing conditions, administrative failure, and shocking mismanagement at one of the state's biggest private universities.

The panel found the university hostel mess in "extremely unsatisfactory" condition. The students complained about poor quality of food and beverages, contaminated water with a foul smell in the drinking water. The management admitted that there had been an outbreak of jaundice from November 14 to 24, in which 23 male and 12 female students were afflicted, indicating prima facie water contamination.

The report maps the university as running like a fortress of fear. Students told the committee that they were threatened with harassment for complaining, warned that their identity cards would be confiscated, threatened with being barred from exams, told they would get poor marks in practicals-and, in one shocking incident, even the District Chief Medical and Health Officer was made to wait for two hours at the campus gate.

It said the committee found that student dissatisfaction mounted steadily, while the management ignored warnings. As the situation worsened, the administration called the police at 2 am.

The Under Secretary, Viran Singh Bhalavi, in the notice, warned that the government would take unilateral action if the university fails to provide a proper explanation.

The crisis began with the reported assault of a student by the hostel staff after complaints of contaminated water and food, which was followed by unprecedented chaos.

On November 25, approximately 4,000 students rallied and protested.

In a matter of minutes, there were burning buses and vehicles, a vandalised ambulance, shattered windscreens, and fire all over the parking lot.

It took police forces from five stations to bring the situation under control. The university has since been shut until December 8 and most students have returned home.

Earlier, the PHE Department collected 18 water samples. Four tested positive for harmful bacteria, including E coli. PHE official Pradeep Saxena confirmed contamination in water taken from tube wells, ground-level tanks and RO systems.

The Food and Drug Administration collected 25 food samples from the hostel mess - pulses, rice, oil, flour, semolina, and more.

Among the most shocking of the revelations was that 11 campus blocks were functioning without fire NOCs, therefore exposing thousands of students to grave risk. The management's omissions directly led to this crisis. The investigation team, comprising Hamidia College Principal Dr Anil Shivani, MVM College Professor Sanjay Dixit, and GMC Professor Dr Lokendra Dave, concluded that this entire chain of events had been the result of deep-rooted administrative failure.