Delhi Police told a court on Monday that it was constrained to enter the Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) on December 15 last year to contain the violence and rescue innocent students trapped inside as “rioters” had entered the campus during anti-CAA protests and pelted stones at police personnel and public from inside.
The submissions were made in the Action Taken Report (ATR) filed before Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal during the hearing of a plea seeking registration of FIR against alleged police attack on students on the campus during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The court has put up the matter for further hearing on April 7.
The police said as it was not possible to distinguish between the trapped students and rioters, who were found to be having petrol bombs earlier, all were asked to be evacuated with their “hands up”. The ATR said: “With a view to contain the violence and maintain law and order, the police was constrained to enter the campus. The police personnel could successfully contain the violent activity by temporarily apprehending 52 persons under the Delhi police Act. During the incident in Jamia a large number of police officials and public persons got injured.
“The action was required to be taken in light of the ongoing violence from within the campus and to rescue the innocent students trapped inside and to ensure normalcy. As it was not possible for the police to distinguish between the trapped students and rioters who were found to be having petrol bombs earlier, all were asked to be evacuated with their ‘hands up’ since this exercise was undertaken as it was already dark in the late evening,”police said.