Enraged over what was termed as an “unnecessary” hike by the college, students boycotted classes and held a strike in the college.

The college authorities, however, cleared their stance by saying that the fee was being charged according to the fee structure prescribed by Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Soon after the students held a meeting in the morning to discuss the fee structure, the situation turned violent as they went on to allege that the college management was trying to fleece students by asking them to pay almost double the amount as compared to the fee structure of the previous batch.

The angry mob of students broke window panes and furniture and damaged the flower pots while pressing for their demands.

“We cannot be fooled into paying such a hefty amount when the college prospectus did not even mention any such hike. It is not justified. We are not going to relent unless we hear favourably from the management. If it is a decision of the university, then the university needs to rethink,” shouted a student leader, furiously.

The students alleged they were now being asked to pay about Rs 5,000 in the last instalment of fees.

“We have handed over our demands in writing to the college authorities and asked them not to hike the fee unreasonably. We are being charged about Rs 7,700 and have demanded that the amount be reduced to Rs 3,000 keeping in mind the welfare of needy students.”

The police intervened in the matter later and brought the situation under control. The college management, meanwhile, assured students to take favourable steps in this regard, maintaining that the fee was being charged according to the university’s fee structure.

It is pertinent to mention here that the same issue of fee hike in the second instalment of fees, specially in the courses such as BCom, BBA and BCA, had sparked off a series of protests in the commerce departments of three city colleges in the first week of November last year.