Students stir outside police HQ ends; tension prevails

With the assurance of “free fair and impartial” probe and release of detained students of Jamia Millia Islamia, the night-long protest of students outside Delhi Police headquarters came to an end in early hours of Monday but a palpable tension prevailed in and around the University and adjoining localities.

A research scholar of JMIU protested with his upper body bare in the University hinting that protests will continue and students may organise a march up to Parliament. The youth who was protesting at the university gate claimed that he was sitting in the library of the University and had to run to save himself. He refused to be named.

"Better to be beaten up by cops in the light of the day than saving a life by running away thus in the dead of the night," he told news channels drawing its parallel with "Gandhian" protests asking cops to beat students in daylight instead of in the dead of night.

Meanwhile, as protests also spread to other University campuses like Jadavpur University in West Bengal, Banaras Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh and Maulana Azad Urdu University in Hyderabad, Aligarh Muslim University has been closed till January 5 with students having asked to evict the campus.

The entry of police into JMIU without the permission of the University administration is turning out to be a major bone of contention. Congress leader Salman Khurshid hinted that they will approach the court against the police action in Jamia as accountability must be fixed.

Karnataka Congress tweeted: "We condemn Delhi police action, who forcefully entered Jamia University campus, blocked gates and fired tear gas at students. Police has clearly exceeded their jurisdiction & have defied all norms."

It also alleged that Home Minister Amit Shah has to answer on whose instructions were the police operating.

Meanwhile, All India forum of Save Education condemned the "barbaric act" by Delhi Police on the students of Jamia and called for "Student Strike in all Delhi" on Monday.

“In a shameful manner, the central government has unleashed violence on people who are protesting against the divisive communal Citizenship Amendment Act. Let it be Jawaharlal Nehru University or Jamia Milia Islamia Delhi, students have been met with unimaginable state violence. Unprovoked lathi charge, tear gas firing, the open firing have injured hundreds of students and many of them are in critical condition."

“We believe this is a planned attack on education to further silence people who are holding an opposite view with the government. Educational institutions cannot be turned into a military occupied zone. The internal democracy and right to free speech have to be upheld,” the forum, which is organising the protest under the banner of "Save Constitution. Save Democracy" said.

JMIU Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar said that "even genuine students" of University got bashed up as the police entered the campus in a rush. But she also conceded that police might not have been able to take permission due to the circumstantial rush but rued that a number of University staff and students have been injured in the incident and property, vandalised.

The police have claimed they exercised the maximum restraint. The BJP has accused the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party of stoking the fire on the Citizenship Amendment Act to meet their political ends.