The medicos' action committee claimed that college principal Dr S.S. Sidhu, along with certain other faculty members, manhandled certain students when they were going to participate in a peaceful agitation. However, Dr Sidhu, when contacted, vehemently denied the charge and maintained that the students had misbehaved with a female lecturer, who took up the matter with the principal.

The students claimed that the principal had postponed the ongoing internal examinations and ordered students to vacate hostels by the evening even though the university examinations were round the corner.

The students claimed that they had refused to vacate the hospital and decided to go on a hunger strike in front of the college.

Dr Sidhu said the students had torn examination sheets of the orthopaedic paper. He added that some miscreants had been identified and the college authorities were contemplating taking action against them. He said the students were sent home today as their preparatory vacation was to start from tomorrow.

Students who wanted to stay in hostels, including postgraduate students and those of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery course, were being allowed to stay on in the hostel, he pointed out. Dr Sidhu said there was also no question of postponing the internal examinations as most papers had already been conducted.