Ghazanfar Abbas, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, Feb 24: Even as the Delhi Police has transferred the probe of Ramjas College incident to its Crime Branch, many students have come out narrating what actually happened on Tuesday and Wednesday, in which more than a dozen students and teachers were wounded. Some of the students who witnessed the violence on both days have alleged that the Police personnel mostly remained mute spectator when a group of students allegedly associated with ABVP assaulted fellow students, teachers and media persons.
On 21st February (Tuesday)
“We came there (Ramjas College) to talk on idea of University and culture of protest ABVP disrupted the event. ABVP members pelted stones and did lathi-charge on common students of Ramjas College and Delhi University,” an eyewitness told IndiaTomorrow.net.
“Violence was continued over us and police were shamelessly supporting them,” DU student alleged.
“Protest is in constitutional means and we were doing protest, we were not doing anything anti-national. And we don’t need certificate of nationalism from ABVP,” she furiously said.
A two-day seminar titled ‘Culture of Protest’ was organized by the Dept. of English, Ramjas College of Delhi University. Among others, the seminar was to be addressed by JNU research scholar Umar Khalid, who, along with Kanhaiya Kumar, another JNU student, was arrested by Delhi Police last year for allegedly shouting anti-national slogans.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated ABVP, which dominates the students union in Delhi University, raised slogans denouncing Khalid as an “anti-national” and forced the organisers to suspend the day’s event on Tuesday.
The seminar was suspended and invitation to Umar Khalid for the first session on Indian Tribals — a subject on which Khalid is writing his PhD thesis at JNU – was cancelled.
“Umar Khalid was not in the seminar; despite that ABVP locked up the seminar hall and pelted stones in the presence of police,” another eyewitness told.
On 22nd February (Wednesday)
To protest against the violence allegedly by ABVP members a day before, Delhi University students planned a march to the nearby Maurice Nagar Police Station on 22nd February demanding action against ABVP activists.
“Common students wanted to register an FIR but Police beat up common students and even they detained us after 7 pm which is against the law,” eyewitness further told.
But ABVP activists, who surrounded the college, stopped the students from marching to the police station. Clashes erupted between them outside Ramjas College and more than a dozen students including some teachers and media persons were wounded.
“The situation in north campus was very scary, everybody was scared,” an eye witness said.
Anyhow, the students reached Maurice Nagar Police station in the afternoon and sat in front of it demanding registration of a mass FIR against the ABVP activists but were detained by the police as Section 144 was imposed in the area.
Another student alleged that Delhi Police mishandled them.
“While Police was putting us into the bus, they were abusing us and saying we were anti-nationals,” a student told.
On 23rd February (Thursday)
Hundreds of DU students protested outside Delhi Police headquarters demanding action against ABVP members and all those policemen who allegedly mishandled and beat them up.
“This is something we are witnessing in JNU, AMU and happening across the country. RSS and BJP think that they are in power, so they can do whatever they want by clamping down any discourse they don’t like,” a protesting student said.
“We want the police should have maintained law & order rather supporting ABVP,” he said.
A student alleged that ABVP activists are still searching the hostels of the students to remove all the evidences against them.
“There has been hooliganism going on. ABVP is searching for the students in PGs and everywhere so they could capture the mobile phones to delete the videos of violence they did,” student said.
Case transferred to Crime branch, 3 Policemen suspended
Delhi Police have suspended three policemen on Thursday for alleged inaction in controlling the violence in Delhi University. The case has been handed over to the Crime Branch for probe. The Crime Branch of Delhi Police will investigate the incident on the basis of the FIR lodged at Maurice Nagar police station in North Delhi.
Special Commissioner SBK Singh said, “Investigation of the case has been transferred to Crime Branch. It will examine the videos that have surfaced. And students can send all the evidence pertaining to violence.”
However, two separate FIRs will not be filed in the case as demanded by the students protesting outside Police headquarters. Singh said, “There was a single incident and two FIRs are not required.”
Singh also said the policemen who assaulted journalists would be identified and “appropriate action will be taken against them.”
