Students across India protest against campus attack

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union leader Aishe Ghosh and 19 others have been named in a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Delhi Police for allegedly vandalising the university server room and attacking security guards on January 4, a day before a mob attacked several students inside the JNU campus. Over 30 students and teachers, including Aishe Ghosh, were injured in the attack on Sunday (January 5) evening.

The JNU administration had alleged that students who were opposing the fee hike at the university were blocking the semester registration process. They had even ‘ransacked’ the server room and threatened the staff, the university administration claimed in its complaint.

JNU Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar, in a series of tweets, also sought to explain the sequence of events that unfolded inside the varsity campus. Kumar said the some of the protesting students had tried obstruct academic activities which later spiralled out of control.

“The origin of the present situation in JNU lies in some agitating students turning violent and obstructing the academic activities of a large number of non-protesting students. The protesting students damaged the communication servers to disrupt the winter semester registration,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police is yet to arrest anyone in connection with Sunday’s mob attack. The police said a few of the masked attackers have been identified. The case is being probed by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police.

A blame game has erupted over the attack with Left-supported students unions and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accusing each other of indulging in violence.

Protests against the JNU incident have been continuing across the country. In an early morning action on Tuesday, police relocated dozens of protesters from Gateway of India to Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

“As the demonstration was posing problems for tourists and in traffic movement, we requested the protesters to moveto Azad Maidan. But some groups did not listen despite our repeated request, so we relocated them to the Azad Maidan,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Sangramsingh Nishandar told news agency PTI.