Students of Jamia Millia Islamia on Wednesday evening called off their four-day old agitation against the “unauthorised presence” of some police personnel in plain clothes outside the boys’ hostel after a written assurance by the University authorities that no disciplinary action will be taken against any protesting student.
Jamia’s Chief Proctor, Professor Mehtab Alam, also assured the students that all preventive measures will be taken to ensure that such an incidence will not occur in future and that safety and security of all students are the university’s utmost priority.
Scores of students had been protesting at the varsity alleging that “surprise checks” were made by the Delhi Police in their hostels last Saturday. While the students dubbed them as “raids”, police officials maintained that they were part of routine checks being conducted in that area ahead of Independence Day.
Earlier students of boys’ hostel had withdrawn themselves from the agitation saying that there was no raid of police personnel and it was only a security lapse.
In a signed letter written last evening to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Talat Ahmad, submitted through the Chief Proctor, the students announced their withdrawal from the agitation stating that they had realised that some of the issues were being “fabricated unnecessarily which have no meaning for us”.
“We the students of Jamia Boys’ Hostel would like to clarify that there was no raid of police personnel but it was only a security breach. This has created an atmosphere of fear amongst the residents of the hostel,” said residents of Boys’ Hostel, Jamia, in the letter a day after VC Ahmad addressed and appealed to them to call-off their stir.
Referring to Prof Ahmad’s address to them on the evening of August 15, they said, “You have assured that appropriate steps would be taken to avoid such incidents in future. You have also assured us that legal action will be taken by the concerned authorities. We fully agree with your words and hope that you will seriously look into the matter.”