Engineering students at Aligarh Muslim University boycotted the first day of their semester exams on Monday in protest against the December 15 police action on campus and the arrest of a student on Sunday.

Students across streams have boycotted classes since the university reopened after winter vacation a fortnight ago, and have been on dharna at the campus gate demanding the resignations of vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor and registrar Abdul Hamid.

Police and Rapid Action Force personnel had entered the hostels and mess on December 15 and caned and tear-gassed students protesting the citizenship amendment. The VC has admitted asking the police to enter the campus.

On Sunday, when the students heckled the VC at the campus R-Day event, he allegedly ordered the security guards to hand over four students to the police. Three were released but Mustafa Faraz was arrested.

On Monday, Ehtasham Matin, a BArch student at AMU’s Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, explained the exam boycott to reporters.

“Thousands of students have been booked under false charges (over the citizenship protests). Over a dozen have been named in the FIR. The police have procured the address of every student from the university and are going to their homes to show the copy of the FIR,” he said.

“If you are our VC or registrar, initiate the process to revoke the false allegations against the students. We want them out because we are not safe under their leadership.”

Shafey Kidwai, AMU spokesperson, said many of the engineering students were willing to take the exam but were prevented by others.

Anil Samaniya, a police officer, said: “We detained four students after the university handed them over to us. One was arrested for breach of peace and instigating others to violence.”