A senior police official said that around 100 protesters were detained and taken to Bhalswa dairy police station in north-west Delhi.
Over 100 students, protesting outside the University Grants Commission office in the national capital early morning, have alleged that they were lathi-charged and forcibly removed from the premises by the Delhi Police.
The students had gathered outside the University Grants Commission or UGC premises to protest against the scrapping of fellowship awarded so far to non-National Eligibility Test (NET) research scholars.
"Storming of UGC continues. Several of us have been picked up by police since morning 5.30 am in the morning. Another stream of protesters arrived UGC to continue the protest. Police has brutally attacked them. Several comrades are seriously injured and taken to hospital," All India Students' Association (AISA) said in a statement.
"The UGC Non-NET fellowship which was started in 2008 to encourage research in the universities has proved to be a lifeline for researchers who do not have access to other scholarships. It has encouraged students from different backgrounds to continue their research. Instead, the government scraps it," the statement added.
While hundreds of students protested peacefully, some students allegedly belonging to the BJP-led Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) created a ruckus on Friday afternoon.
A senior police official said that around 100 protesters were detained and taken to Bhalswa dairy police station in north-west Delhi. He, however, declined to comment on the allegations of lathi-charge.
A large number of students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Ambedkar University and other institutions have been sitting on a dharna since Tuesday at the UGC, demanding the authorities to restore the fellowships.
A delegation of students today met UGC officials but their meeting remained inconclusive.
The scheme of non-NET fellowship, which is provided to those undertaking research in central universities across India, was scrapped by the UGC in its last meeting.
Under the scheme, financial assistance was provided to students undertaking MPhil and PhD of Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 per month respectively. PhD students got assistance for four years and MPhil students for 18 months.