Jamia takes 'strict action' against 15 students for last year's scuffle, 3 expelled

Jamia Millia Islamia has taken "strict actions" against 15 students, including expulsion of three, for their involvement in last September's scuffle between two groups that had resulted in a student sustaining bullet injuries, officials said.

The punishments vary from expulsion, campus ban, no hostel accommodation and monetary compensation to furnishing a bond of good conduct depending on the student's involvement, a senior varsity official said.

Three out of 15 students have only been allowed to give examinations with a 5-year campus ban and no admission in any other course at the university after completion of their course, the official said.

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"The disciplinary actions have been taken after the due procedure and to set an example that the university will not tolerate any kind of indiscipline on the campus," Jamia Registrar Nazim Husain Al Jafri said.

The students who have been expelled are identified as Mujeebur Rehman, BA (Hons) Political Science; Salman Khursid, BA programme; and Mohd. Faisal, MA (Social Exclusion) for disturbing the peaceful environment of the university and inciting students for fighting, the officials said.

The notices issued on April 24 to Rehman and Khursid mention that they did not appear before the disciplinary committee to defend their case.

The notice furnished to Faisal mentions that the "committee took into account activities carried out by him during the period of suspension and campus ban".

While Rehman and Khursid could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, Faisal refused to comment on the matter.

In September last year, two groups of students engaged in multiple brawls on and outside the campus. In one of the skirmishes, a student suffered bullet injuries in a hospital.

Days after the incident, the university suspended several students for "spoiling" the peaceful academic environment. The matter was taken up by the disciplinary committee of the university.

The committee in its meetings held on April 6, 2023 in the Mir Anis Hall, Administrative Block and subsequent meeting held on April 10 in the Committee Room, Registrar Office "took a serious view" of the involvement of these students "in the name of regional conflict resulting in the series of fights between students of Western UP and Mewat Region on September 29 on the university campus and at Holy Family Hospital," according to the notices served to each student.

"The students were given show-cause notice. The committee held multiple meetings and hearings and then decided on the punishment to the students," the registrar asserted.

According to the officials, out of 15, five Diploma in Electrical Engineering students -- Suhail Nasrullah Ansari, Mohammad Shadab Choudhary, Sahil and Nazim Khan -- have been allowed to complete their courses and suspension have been revoked against them but they will be banned from the campus for a period of five years following their course completion.

These five students will not be allowed to get any hostel accommodation and warning letters have also been issued to them.

Meanwhile, Momin Khan pursuing Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Abdul Hannan, MA (Development Extension) and Asif Ali, MA History Semester II, have been asked to pay Rs 1,000 each as a fine. The three students, along with Abrar Ahmed, Diploma in Electrical Engineering, will also not be given hostel accommodation in the university during the remaining period of their current course and will have to furnish a bond of good conduct in the Proctor Office.

The police had registered two cases and apprehended nine people in connection with the scuffle involving the Jamia students and a firing incident at the Holy Family Hospital in southeast Delhi.