New Delhi: Two days after the mob attack in Jawaharlal Nehru University, no arrests have been made by the Delhi police who received more flak Tuesday from opposition parties and student groups as it came to light that twin FIRs were filed on the night of the campus violence based on the varsity’s previous vandalism complaints naming injured JNU students union president Aishe Ghosh and others.
Breaking his silence, Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, who is facing demands of resignation from the Left-controlled students union, said the incident was unfortunate and appealed to the students to put the past behind, but only broached superficially the allegations of delayed action by authorities during the January 5 rampage by masked attackers.
“If there is a law and order situation we do not rush to police immediately. We see if our security can handle. Sunday, when we saw that there is a possibility of aggressive behaviour among students, we informed the police,” Kumar told reporters.
Protests continued against the attack at the JNU, with the students union alleging that the FIRs showed the varsity administration was colluding with the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Left-affiliated student groups and ABVP have blamed each other for the violence.
In an alumni meeting at the university, former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and activist Kavita Krishnan slammed the Centre over the violence, alleging the government was trying to destroy the Constitution.
In the evening, actress Deepika Padukone also visited the varsity to express solidarity with the students, but left without addressing the gathering.
A march by students and faculty was organised at the varsity during which slogans were raised against the ABVP, the Vice-Chancellor and the Centre.
The Opposition too questioned the filing of FIRs and slammed the police, with Congress saying saying ‘40 hours since the violent attacks in JNU and the Delhi Police has failed to arrest a single perpetrator, despite the glaring evidence’.
“Is the police so incompetent under Amit Shah? Instead they file an FIR against a victim of the attack. Disgraceful (sic),” the party said on its Twitter handle.
The two FIRs were registered by Delhi Police on the night of January 5, within a span of few minutes, after taking cognisance of complaints filed by JNU authorities naming office-bearers of student union including Ghosh and JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon in connection with alleged vandalism on premises January 1 and 4.
Incidentally, this was also the time when police had been called in to restore law and order in the university and several injured students, including Ghosh, were rushed to hospital. The general diary reference in police records showed the FIRs were registered at 8.44pm and 8.49pm.
Ghosh said her ‘struggle’ against the proposed fee hike in the varsity will continue even if an FIR is filed against her for each day of the protest. “I am not scared of the vice-chancellor. Even if they file 70 FIRs for 70 days of protests against the fee hike, we will continue our struggle,” she said.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury alleged that the FIRs have been filed as an ‘after thought’. Without naming Ghosh, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said it was ‘unfortunate’ that a case had been registered against the ‘girl who had 18-19 stitches on her head’.
A fringe right-wing group, Hindu Raksha Dal, has purportedly taken responsibility for the attack on JNU students in a video posted on social media.
The video, which was posted on Monday and has gone viral since, shows a man identifying himself as Pinki Chaudhary saying that those who resort to ‘anti-national activities’ will be treated in the same way that JNU students and faculty were.
Demonstrations over the attack were held in various parts of the country. Members of the ABVP and its rival National Students’ Union of India clashed in Ahmedabad during a protest organised by students’ wing of the Congress outside the office of the RSS-affiliated outfit in the city’s Paldi area, leaving 10 people injured.
In Mumbai, police said people protesting against the JNU violence since Sunday night were evicted from Gateway of India and ‘relocated’ to the Azad on Tuesday morning as roads were getting blocked and tourists and common people were facing problems.
In a brief statement, Kumar said, “Our heart goes out to all injured students. The incident (violence) is unfortunate. I would like to tell students that JNU campus is a secure place. I urge all students to come back to the campus. Let us put the past behind.”
An official said HRD Ministry officials will meet Wednesday the vice-chancellor over the violence on campus by a masked mob and other issues affecting the normal functioning of the varsity.
Agencies