Tuesday, June 7 2005 22:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In an unprecedented breach of security, activists of a students organisation affiliated to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (Jun 7, 2005) ransacked the Vigyan Bhavan where a meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education chaired by Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh was being held.

Activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) besieged the building, the venue of many national and international conferences located close to the residences of the Vice President and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson, shortly after the lunch break.

The activists, who stormed the conference centre, smashed glass-panes, broke flower pots and shouted slogans against the Minister in protest against the new National Curriculum Framework.

They even removed oil paintings and decoration pieces from the walls and threw sofa cushions besides shouting slogans such as "ABVP Zindabad" and "Arjun Singh hai hai". Some employees of Central Public Works Department were also injured in the melee.

Police arrived at the scene only 15 minutes after the protests began and rounded up more than 50 activists.

A senior police official said the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was responsible for the security of the building and local police rushed to the scene as soon as they were informed.

Employees at the Vigyan Bhavan said this was the first time that the high-security building had been targeted in this manner.