Attributing the recent violent behaviour by some students of a city college on 'Bus Day' as the result of a ban on the celebrations, the Tamil Nadu police said it "will continue to take stringent action against students who act unlawfully".
In a counter affidavit to written petitions against the celebrations, the state DGP K Ramanujam said the ban on the so-called bus day celebrations was being strictly enforced.
Denying the charge that the police was not able to put to an end such activities by students of the city's Pachaiyappa's college, he said sincere and strenuous efforts were being taken to prevent college students from conducting bus-day celebrations.
Some students of the Pachaiyappa's College here had resorted to violence on Feb 9,targeting two buses on EVR Periyar Salai, after being denied permission to celebrate 'Bus Day'.
The affidavit said that when some students of the college were not allowed to conduct the celebrations, they behaved violently and threw stones at the police, public and private vehicles from inside the college causing extensive damage.
In all, 14 students of the college were arrested and remanded to judicial custody the same day.
"The police will continue to take stringent action against the students who act unlawfully," the DGP said, adding permission would not be granted for bus day celebrations and observations of the High Courtin March last year would be followed "in letter and spirit".
The affidavit was in response to written petitions by advocate V Srinivasan and Nethaji Pokkuvarathu Thozhilalargal Pathukappu Thozhir Sangam (NPTPTS)'s MTC unit president, V Thalapathy.
In the petition, the NPTPTS said drivers and conductors of city buses were silent sufferers as they did not have any means to protect themselves and the travelling public.
Meanwhile, the city Police Commissioner, J K Tripathy, said a letter had been sent to the Principal of Pachaiyappa's College on February two about the prohibition of bus day celebrations and requesting him to inform students that criminal prosecution would be initiated against them, if they went ahead with the celebrations.
Stating that investigation in the case relating to the Feb 9 incidents was mostly completed, he refuted the claim that the police had failed in their duty.
The college Principal, P Kandaswamy, had said that ban on bus day celebrations had been printed in the college calendar itself citing the orders of the High Court.
A student had already been expelled from the college for involvement in the celebrations last year, the principal said and added that in order to control students and to monitor them effectively, the college's discipline committee had been reconstituted with more staff members with immediate effect.
The principal said a CD given by the police for the purpose of identifying students, who had participated in the violent incidents, had been copied and circulated to all departments.
On identification, action would be taken against the students besides informing the police, he said.
The involvement of outsiders in the incident had been confirmed with the arrest of a schoolboy and a plumber, he said.