A brutal cleaver attack in the Barak Hostel at JNU on 5th November left a student permanently blind in one eye and has starkly illustrated the fine line that can be drawn between personal spite and murderous violence on one of India’s most politically volatile campuses.
The incident started around 3 pm in Room 119. MA student Ajay Singh Bhadauria reportedly objected to Saurabh Singh (a second-year language student) being friends with a female student. The argument escalated into something much more serious.
According to the police, Bhadauria took out a meat cleaver and began attacking Saurabh on the head, the face, the hand and the eye. There were blood trails all the way from the first floor to the ground floor, which was absolutely appalling to the hostel staff and other residents who saw it.
Saurabh was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre in a critical condition. They found extensive injuries to the right eye, nose, face and shoulders, with multiple fractures. He underwent emergency surgery. By the weekend, they were able to confirm that he had lost vision in his right eye permanently. The damage is absolutely irreversible.
Four students were injured in the scuffle. Bhadauria was injured in the course of the fight, as were the woman student at the heart of the matter and MA student Shani Kant Kumar (Bhadauria’s roommate). All four were taken to AIIMS.
The woman subsequently approached the Vasant Kunj North police and filed a formal complaint. An FIR was registered under the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), including the offence of attempt to murder. Bhadauria was arrested. The inquiry is now looking into how the large meat cleaver got into the hostel room and whether anyone else assisted in the attack.
JNU’s Proctor’s Office acted quickly and, under Sections 32(1) and 32(3) of the JNU Act, 1966, immediately rusticated four students. They were barred from campus while a proctorial inquiry takes place: Ajay Singh Bhadauria, Shani Kant Kumar, Saurabh Singh, and an unnamed woman student. The administration also warned that anyone who shelters these students on campus could face further action. University officials said institutional grievance mechanisms exist and that they will not tolerate violence.
The incident has clearly rattled the campus. Most of the rowdiness that’s occurred at JNU in the past has had a political dimension; this one seems purely personal. The fact that a butcher’s knife was found in a hostel room and that a student has been permanently maimed has raised very serious questions about security, the control of weapons and the university’s capacity to prevent a personal spat from escalating to a point of death. There was a real panic on the ground, with bloodstains all down the stairwells. Some students have been calling for much stricter controls on what can be brought into the hostels.
As of 9th November, Saurabh is still in AIIMS hospital. The Delhi Police is investigating, and the university is also looking into what happened. There have been no new arrests. Officials are reviewing statements and medical evidence to find out what happened in Room 119.