New Delhi, January 6: Armed with iron rods, sledgehammers, hockey sticks and faces covered with clothes, several miscreants ransacked and terrorised the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night for over three hours. The miscreants - 60 to 70 in number, some state more - targeted the students and hit teachers and professors with bricks and sticks. Rough estimates claim 42 people - 30 students and 12 teachers - were attacked and some of them even sustained head injuries. Those injured include JNU students union president Aishe Ghosh and JNU professor Sucharita Sen.
The masked miscreants on their way to create chaos in the central university, entered girls hostels and vandalised property. Students claimed that they were pulled out of their hostel rooms and were thrashed, resulting in multiple injuries like. Following this, the rampage went on, until the university registrar requested Delhi Police to enter the campus and control the law and order situation. The policemen then carried out flag marches at several intervals, however, the violence reportedly continued until 10 pm. Over 40 Injured in Attack on Students, Teachers by Masked Mob
Considering the level of violence and vandalism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to take appropriate action against the guilty and ordered an inquiry to be carried out by a Joint CP level officer. He also sought a report regarding the same to be submitted at the ministry soon.
Here's what Amit Shah said:
Union Home Minister has spoken to Delhi Police Commissioner over JNU violence and instructed him to take necessary action. Hon’ble minister has also ordered an enquiry to be carried out by a Joint CP level officer and asked for a report to be submitted as soon as possible.
— गृहमंत्री कार्यालय, HMO India (@HMOIndia) January 5, 2020
Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, too, condemned the attack on students and teachers. The Minister asked the students to maintain the dignity of the campus.
Here's what he wrote:
#JNU में हुई हिंसा अत्यंत चिंताजनक और दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है । मैं परिसर के भीतर हुई हिंसा की निंदा करता हूं । मैं सभी विद्यार्थियों से विश्व विद्यालय की गरिमा और परिसर में शांति बनाए रखने की अपील करता हूं ।
— Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) January 5, 2020
With things blowing out of proportion and protests across the nation being organised against the violence in JNU, police took immediate steps and have informed that they have received multiple complaints. The police assured they would file the FIRs soon. Meanwhile, heavy deployment outside the varsity gate could be observed. Amid the chaos and violence, students from various universities - Jadavpur University, University of Hyderabad, FTII, and others - staged their protest since midnight. On Monday, students from Delhi University, Jamia Millia and JNU have called for a march against the attack.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2020 09:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).