Pune COEP Hostel Row: 150 Congress-NSUI Workers Booked; News Channel Representatives Also Named
Shivajinagar, 27th August 2026: A case has been registered against around 150 workers of the Congress and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) for allegedly entering the hostel premises of COEP Technological University without permission, pushing security personnel, raising slogans and abusing students.
The case follows a controversy involving a female student and a video circulated on social media concerning her hostel fees. In a separate complaint, the university administration has also raised allegations against representatives of a news channel who reportedly entered the hostel premises while covering the controversy.
The complaint against the Congress and NSUI workers was filed by Dr Raju Pachkor, chief administrative officer of the university’s hostel department, at the Shivajinagar police station.
According to the complaint, the COEP hostel campus comprises around 10 buildings housing nearly 2,000 students. Access to the hostel premises is restricted for outsiders unless prior permission is obtained, and private security personnel are deployed at the entry points.
Protest at hostel gate
The university said the controversy began on August 19 after some NSUI workers allegedly recorded a female student without her consent and circulated the video on social media.
According to the administration, the student was admitted under the orphan student quota and was allegedly made to claim in the video that she was being charged fees applicable to students under the general category.
The university has disputed the allegations, describing them as misleading and claiming that the incident affected its reputation.
On August 21, around 150 Congress and NSUI workers allegedly gathered outside the hostel. The complaint states that the protesters forcibly opened the gate, pushed security guards and entered the hostel premises.
They allegedly raised slogans outside the women’s hostel and abused students. Police were alerted following the incident and reached the spot, subsequently removing the protesters from the premises.
News channel representatives also named in separate complaint
In a separate development, the university administration has lodged a complaint against representatives of a news channel who allegedly entered the hostel premises without prior permission while reporting on the controversy.
According to the administration, the media representatives had visited the campus to cover the dispute over the student’s hostel fees and the subsequent protest.
The complaints against the protesters and media representatives have brought attention to access restrictions at the university’s hostel premises and the manner in which the controversy was handled.
The university has maintained that restrictions on entry are necessary to protect the safety and security of hostel residents. The allegations against the media representatives relate to their reported entry into the restricted premises while covering the incident.
The Shivajinagar police are investigating the matter further.
