FAISALABAD, Jan 21: The students’ hostel of the National Textile University were besieged by a heavy contingent of police on Tuesday.

Later policemen and armed guards hired by the varsity administration forced their entry into the hostels’ rooms and started throwing out luggage of the students.

Hundreds of other students also rushed to the spot and started raising slogans against the college administration and police. The police reportedly misbehaved with the protesters.

The students refused to vacate the hostels and the varsity administration called more police force.

The police besieged all the hostels which continued till 5 pm when Civil Lines DSP Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad reached the spot. He held parleys with the students and university management. The siege was ended when students assured the DSP that they would vacate the hostels till 5pm on Wednesday (Jan 22).

Representatives of students told newsmen that the office-bearers of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association were hatching conspiracies to grab the land of varsity and convert it into a private educational institution to save taxes.

They said the APTMA and private management of the varsity had enhanced the annual fee from Rs34,000 to Rs83,000 without any justification.

The NTU students had been protesting against the policies of the varsity administration for the last four months, especially increase in tuition fee and converting the college into a private university.