Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi alleged that the Delhi Police detained him on Friday while he was en route to meet Jamia Millia Islamia students protesting the restoration of their students’ union on campus.
The Rampur MP said that police pushed and manhandled him and detained him, while he was raising his voice for the rights of the students. He also said, as a Jamia alumnus, it is his duty to support students’ rights. Nadvi was later released.
Visuals of his detention also surfaced on social media.
Earlier, women students at Jamia marched in solidarity with protesters as the university administration began removing controversial slogans from campus walls and identifying those responsible.
The women students raised slogans supporting the ongoing agitation, which began on October 12, with protesters demanding the announcement of an election schedule for the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU).
“We won’t stop until the university restores the union by announcing the JMISU date,” the protesting women students said, reiterating their demand for a representative student body.
The university administration has condemned controversial slogans on campus walls, including “VC go back”.
A university official said the administration was trying to identify those responsible for writing the slogans and would take strict action against them. “It is highly condemnable. The university is trying to identify who wrote these slogans. Strict action will be taken against those involved,” the official said.
The administration cleaned the walls using chemical agents. The official also said some CCTV cameras had been tampered with and their wiring had been disconnected or damaged in areas where the slogans appeared.
The development comes amid an ongoing student agitation demanding the restoration of student union elections. The university administration has formed a committee to draft a new student union constitution. However, the protesting students have maintained that their primary demand is an official notification announcing the election schedule.
The protest saw unrest on October 17 when authorities attempted to remove demonstrators from Jamia’s Ghalib lawn at gate number 7. Several student organisations have since backed students’ demands.
Campus security has also been tightened, with students undergoing checks before being allowed entry into departments and centres.