Masked goons carrying rods, hockey sticks, and lathis, entered JNU campus and attacked students and teachers, leaving several injured. They had also vandalized property, mostly hostels. JNUSU and ABVP have been playing a blame game on who orchestrated the attack. The fire that picked up from the spark of fee hike protests is being probed by Delhi Police.
Crux of the Matter
Please Understand the Chronology! Hundreds of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) had taken to the road when the University announced a hike in hostel fees. University had announced a partial rollback of fees. JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), currently run by Leftists, is demanding a complete withdrawal of the hike. In continuation of that, JNUSU stopped students from registering for the coming semester and demanded them to concur until the hike is completely withdrawn. According to the Press Note released by JNU after the masked men had unleashed an attack on the campus, students protesting the fee hike entered the premises of Communication and Information Services (CIS), ousted the technical staff, and damaged servers. This halted the registration process and the University filed a police complaint. The registration process that restarted on 4th January was again stopped by the protesting students who entered the CIS and vandalized the server room. Police complaint was filed against the identified. On January 5th, registered students were blocked from entering their Schools. Scuffles broke out on the campus between registered students and protestors. Attack of the Masked Men On 5th January, at around 3:45 PM, masked men carrying rods and lathis entered the campus and started beating students and teachers and vandalized the property. The chaos that engulfed JNU injured more than 30 students and the JNUSU leader Aishe Ghosh, all of whom were admitted to AIIMS Hospital. Aishe Ghosh and JNUSU accused ABVP of orchestrating the attack. While ABVP accused leftist students’ organizations like DSF, SFI, and AISA of beating up ABVP members and vandalizing hostel. ABVP, in a statement, said that the whereabouts of its 11 members was unknown. Later in the evening, violent attacks flared near Sabarmati hostel of JNU where 50-60 masked men were seen beating students and destroying property. Videos showing Aishe Ghosh leading masked men are also circulating. There could very well be a possibility that the violent attacks broke out as a result of a row between student parties that exchanged violent blows to and fro. Delhi Police and Inaction According to the Police FIR, administrative authorities contacted police around 3:45 PM when the Periyar Hostel block was under attack. No sooner did the police enter the campus, the goons fled away. Police were again contacted at 7:00 PM when around 50 masked men were attacking Sabarmati Hostel. On reaching the campus, police made announcement through the Public Announcement (PA) System and the masked men again fled away. This information seems contradictory to what Delhi Police said in a Press Conference, that it was contacted around 7:45 PM. JNUSU has also alleged that Delhi Police did not do anything despite being there. Delhi Police has filed FIR against Aishe Ghosh and 18 other members for vandalizing the server room. No FIR related to the 5th January Attack has been filed yet. Aftermath of the Attack Across India, citizens stood in solidarity with JNU and staged protests to condemn the violent attacks. JNU alumni, Bollywood Celebrities, Political Leaders, and students from educational institutes across India participated in the protests. Pinky Chaudhary, leader of Hindu Raksha Dal, took responsibility for the attack and said that the attack was carried out to eradicate anti-national activities going on inside JNU. Police probe into the matter is going on.
Curiopedia
JNU Sedition Row – On 9 February 2016, some students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held a protest on their campus against the capital punishment meted out to the 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and Kashmiri separatist Maqbool Bhat. The organizers of the event were former members of the Democratic Students Union (DSU). The event was held despite the University administration withdrawing permission for the event shortly before it was due to begin, due to protests by members of the Hindu nationalist student union ABVP. The event saw clashes between various student groups. A video was circulated by Indian news channel Zee news in which a small group of individuals, whom a later investigation described as outsiders to the University wearing masks, shouted “anti-India” slogans. The slogans were criticized by many individuals, including political leaders and students of JNU. More Info Swami Vivekanand Statue Vandalized – Obscene messages were discovered on the yet to be unveiled statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU) campus. More Info
Curated Coverage
NDTV – JNU Blames Students Against Registration Process For Violence On Campus
Republic – JNUSU Admits Authenticity Of Video Featuring Aishe Ghosh, Says She Was Against Masked Mob
The Hindu – Charges against student leader Aishe Ghosh, but none held for JNU attacks
NDTV – Masked Mob Attacks JNU; Around 24 Including Students, Teachers Injured
Scroll – JNU violence: Delhi Police admit they saw mob attacking students – but failed to act
India Today – Delhi Police reject charges of reaching JNU late, says entered campus at 7.45pm
Comments