Political leaders on Sunday asked the Centre to take action based on a viral video purportedly showing Jamia students being beaten up by police. While the Congress said if no action is taken, the Government’s intentions would stand expose, Left stated the police’s act is “unconscionable” and “unacceptable”.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, however, said the investigating agencies must use the video as evidence, adding it was “good” of “rioters” to identify themselves.
Sharing the video on social media, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi accused the Home Minister and the Delhi Police of “lying” that Jamia students were not beaten up inside the library.
“Look at how Delhi Police is blindly assaulting students in the library. A boy is flashing his book but the policeman is continuing to attack him with batons,” she said in a tweet in Hindi. “Home Minister and the Delhi Police lied when they said students were not beaten up in the library,” Priyanka said in a tweet in and shared the video.
“If no action is taken even after watching this Jamia video, the Government’s intentions would stand exposed before the whole country,” she said. The 48-second video purportedly shows some seven to eight paramilitary and police personnel entering the Old Reading Hall and beating students with batons.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said police’s act is “unconscionable” and “unacceptable”. “Every defence of police action on students in universities, offered by Amit Shah, is untrue, misleading and politically motivated. Delhi police comes directly under Modi-Shah and this is how it treats young students studying in a library. Shame,” Yechury tweeted.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya the investigating agencies must use the video as evidence.”Students in library with ‘masks’ — Reading from shut books — Looking anxiously towards the entrance rather than being relaxed and immersed in studies, which is what a library is meant for... Anatomy of Jamia rioters who tried hiding in the library after a stone pelting session?” he posted on Twitter.
The University on its part clarified that it has not released the video which is circulating on social media showing some men in paramilitary and police personnel uniform beating up students in the university’s library on December 15.
“It has come to our notice that some video with regard to police brutality in Dr Zakir Husain Library of the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) is in circulation. This is to clarify that the video has not been released by the university,” the institute’s public relations officer Ahmad Azeem said.