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Rampur: A group led by Samajwadi Party (SP) national secretary Kuldeep Singh Bhullar on Tuesday staged a protest against the proposed demolition of the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.

The protesters, most of them from the Sikh community, alleged that Jauhar University is being targeted out of “malice”.

Bhullar told reporters that the youth have taken to the streets to save Jauhar University, and that members of the Sikh community visited the campus to express solidarity.

He claimed that Jauhar University was constructed on gram samaj (village community) land and its building plan was duly approved.

However, the government intends to destroy this “temple of education” out of a spirit of vendetta — a move the Sikh community would not allow to happen, Bhullar said.

The SP leader said the party workers across districts are protesting against the demolition order, and added that it would make every effort to save the university.

It comes as students’ protests continued for the fourth consecutive day, demanding that the Rampur Development Authority (RDA) withdraw its order to raze down 38 of the university’s 40 buildings.

Iqra, a student from Uttarakhand who was sitting at the university gate no. 4, said if there were any irregularities at the university, the government should impose a fine and regularise it.

She appealed to the government not to demolish the university, as doing so would jeopardise the future of the thousands of students studying there.

Mohammad Shoaib and Mohammad Shavez, pharmacy students at the university, said that if necessary, they would confront the bulldozers and even go on a hunger strike.

The RDA had ordered the demolition of 38 out of the 40 buildings at the university, declaring them unauthorised as they were constructed without its approval.

Additionally, the Public Works Department (PWD) declared the university’s gate and the four-lane main road within the campus as public thoroughfares, deeming the installed gate illegal.

Notices regarding irregularities have also been issued by the Fire Department and the Income Tax Department, causing considerable unrest at the university.