The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration has condemned the incident of violence that took place in the varsity campus in which several students and professors were attacked with sticks and rods and property vandalised by masked people. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Secretary has called the Registrar, Proctor and Rector of the JNU to his office on Monday. "It is unfortunate that violence took place in JNU campus this evening. The administration strongly condemns any form of violence on the campus. The JNU administration feels great pain&anguish for the students who have sustained injuries in the violence," read an official statement.
The incident that took place on Sunday evening left many injured and an AIIMS official said that 18 people from JNU were brought to the hospital's Trauma Centre with head injuries and abrasions among other injuries. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh, General Secretary Satish Chandra was among the people injured. "I have been brutally beaten up by masked people. I don`t know who they were," Ghosh was quoted as saying by ANI.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered the Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to take all necessary action to control the situation in the campus. He also ordered an inquiry. The Joint Commissioner of Police Western Range, Delhi Police, Shalini Singh will investigate the JNU incident after the order from the Home Ministry.
The Delhi Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), MS Randhawa, held a meeting with students and teachers of the JNU at the Police Headquarters at ITO on Monday where the students handed over a set of demands to the official, according to ANI. The letter, containing the set of demands, addressed to the Commissioner of Police (CP) urged him to assure "urgent medical assistance to the injured students", "arrest of all goons involved in the attack", "rescue of the students who are stuck both inside and outside the campus" and to ensure normalcy in the campus. A student delegation was also allowed to visit AIIMS Trauma Centre where those injured in JNU campus violence are admitted.
The Delhi police conducted a flag march in the campus on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday to ensure there are no more fringe elements in the campus. Four outsiders were nabbed from the JNU`s North Gate in connection with the brutal violence and were questioned. The four, caught while fleeing the campus, were taken to Vasant Kunj police station for interrogation.
Political leaders across party lines also condemned the attack on students and urged the police to take action against the perpetrators. The Bharatiya Janata Party said, "We strongly condemn the violence on JNU campus. This is a desperate attempt by forces of anarchy, who are determined to use students as cannon fodder, create unrest to shore up their shrinking political footprint. Universities should remain places of learning and education.:
Communist Party of India (CPI) (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury on Monday said that police assured actions against the perpetrators of violence in the JNU campus after meeting Randhawa on Monday. "The police has said that they will gather the evidence and assured us that they will take action against the perpetrators of violence in JNU. They are going to file an FIR in this regard," Yechury told ANI here. Yechury held talks with the Randhawa at the Delhi police headquarters. The senior CPI (M) leader added that two fact-finding teams will go to the university and AIIMS Trauma Centre to gather evidence regarding the violence.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, both JNU alumni, on Sunday condemned the violence. "Horrifying images from JNU- the place I know and remember was one for fierce debates and opinions but never violence. I unequivocally condemn the events of today. This government, regardless of what has been said the past few weeks, wants universities to be safe spaces for all students," Sitharaman, who did her MPhil from JNU, said in a tweet.
Jaishankar, who has an MA in Political Science and an MPhil and PhD in International Relations from JNU, also took to Twitter to express his reaction. "Have seen pictures of what is happening in JNU. Condemn the violence unequivocally. This is completely against the tradition and culture of the university," he tweeted.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who reached the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to meet the injured JNU students. CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, also a former JNUSU leader, also condemned the violence, and the party`s student wing, the Students Federation of India, called for a nationwide protest on Monday. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also said he was shocked by the violence.
Jamia students reached the Delhi Police HQ at ITO to protest, while the Jadavpur University Teachers` Association called upon all sections of society to condemn the "heinous act".
