Lucknow University has barred six students from the campus after days of protests by two groups against the fencing of the Lal Baradari monument and allegations that namaz was being offered near the site, reported The Indian Express on Tuesday. Seven students were also issued show-cause notices.

Aryan Mishra, the vice president of the National Students’ Union of India’s Uttar Pradesh unit, claimed that the university fenced the structure on Saturday, according to The Telegraph.

The National Students’ Union of India is the Congress’ student wing.

A group of unidentified students were quoted as saying by The Indian Express that a hall inside the structure was used as a mosque. They alleged that the structure was fenced to stop students and residents of the area from offering namaz during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, which began on February 18.

On Sunday, a group of Muslim students offered namaz near the structure, with members of the National Students’ Union of India protecting them, said Mishra.

The authorities at the university claimed on Monday that the fencing was erected as a safety measure because the structure is in a dilapidated condition, reported The Indian Express. They also denied claims by students that a hall inside Lal Baradari had been used as a mosque.

However, on Tuesday, tensions escalated on campus after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad shouted “Jai Shri Ram”, staged a sit-in outside the structure, recited the Hanuman Chalisa and demanded that the spot where namaz was offered be purified, reported The Telegraph.

The Hanuman Chalisa is a Hindu devotional hymn dedicated to the deity Hanuman.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Some of the ABVP members were detained by the police, reported the Hindustan Times.

Chitvan Kumar, the station house officer of Hasanganj police station, told The Indian Express that 13 students had been directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each, along with two sureties of the same amount.

“It has been brought on record that students allegedly made deliberate attempts to obstruct construction work being carried out at Lal Baradari within the university premises,” the newspaper quoted the notice issued to them as saying.

It added that they staged a protest by sitting on a road inside the campus, shouted slogans and attempted to offer namaz at a public place, “thereby creating a situation with the potential to disturb public order and disrupt communal harmony, resulting in tension”.

“In view of the above, there exists a strong likelihood that the respondents may engage in acts in the future that could lead to a breach of public peace,” the notice said, according to The Indian Express. “Accordingly, a request has been made to summon them and bind them down with substantial sureties.”