Terror-stricken JNU students leave hostels as eerie feeling pervades campus
A day after the masked assailants attacked several students, including Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, and faculty members with sticks and iron rods on the university campus on Sunday, no arrest was made by the Delhi Police till Monday night.
Even as the palpable sense of unease filled the campus after the unprecedented assault on students and faculty members, with allegations of unholy nexus among JNU administration, local police and hooligans, scores of students, including girls, preferred to leave their hostels till normalcy returns on the campus. Despite massive deployment of security personnel on the JNU campus and outside and authorities allowing entry of only students with valid ID cards, these measures did not assuage the concerns of students over their safety.
As the horrific first-person accounts of the violence that left 34 people injured emerged, the Delhi Police on Monday transferred the case to the Crime Branch, which claimed to have found “vital clues” about the masked attackers. They are sifting through CCTV footage to identify the rioters and have registered an FIR against unknown assailants.
The JNU administration, which had called in the police soon after the Sunday attack, on Monday appealed to the students to keep calm and has sent an initial report to the Human Resource Development Ministry which took stock of the situation.
The JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Monday took out a march from Sabarmati T-Point to the main gate of the campus to protest against the attack on students and demanded sacking of the Vice Chancellor.
Meanwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday also spoke to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and directed him to call representatives from JNU for discussion.
The Delhi Police has rejected the charge of reaching the JNU late, asserting that they responded to the Police Control Rooms (PCR) calls and law-and-order situation professionally to control the violence on the campus. According to Mandeep Singh Randhawa, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and PRO, the internal security of the JNU lies with the varsity administration.
“Police have responded to the PCR calls, and law-and-order situation professionally. A fact finding committee under Shalini Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police, Western range, has been formed and the committee will be looking after all aspects. The Crime Branch also visited the spot on Monday and they have collected vital clues. Police are also collecting CCTV footages and even the entry register at JNU gate is being checked to identify the miscreants behind the violence,” said Randhawa.
A total of 34 students and faculty member of JNU who sustained injuries on Sunday night clashes were discharged on Monday morning from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
A doctor said that four out of the 34 people, which included faculty and students of JNU, had minor head injuries, while other had abrasions, fracture and lacerations on the forehead among others.
The JNU Students’ Union President Aishe Ghosh, who was injured in violence on the campus, on Monday alleged it was an organised attack. “It was an organised attack. They were singling out people and attacking. There is a clear nexus of JNU security and vandals. They did not intervene to stop violence,” said Ghosh.
“The origin of present situation in JNU lies in some agitating students turning violent and obstructing academic activities of a large number of non-protesting students. The protesting students damaged the communication servers to disrupt the winter semester registration,” JNU VC Kumar posted on Twitter.
