The New York police are conducting an operation to free the academic building occupied by protesting students at Columbia University in the United States. The police started the operation at 9:30 pm local time.
Police said they were entering the building, Hamilton Hall, with permission from university authorities. All the protestors stationed there have been removed.
Earlier, the authorities had ordered the protest on the university premises to stop.
Columbia University officials said of the operation that "we had no choice after occupying, vandalizing and blocking".
Former President Donald Trump called the day a sad day for Columbia in a telephone interview with Fox television.
Congressman Jamal Bauman, a Democrat from New York City, criticized the raid at Columbia University. He is angry at the presence of the police there .
CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US, said as many as 50 people had been detained.
However, the peaceful protestors shouted slogans as the handcuffed students walked away.
For the past few days, violent student protests have been going on at US universities demanding a boycott of various individuals and companies associated with Israel.
Earlier, many Columbia teachers and officials stood in solidarity with the protesters by wearing orange and yellow vests.
Students were protesting in that campus by pitching tents. The authorities had given time till Monday afternoon to remove the tent.
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| Protesters tent on campus at Columbia University |