10 held for clashes in Jamia, none of them from varsity

NEWDELHI: Ten residents of Jamia Nagar and surrounding neighbourhoods have been arrested for the violence that broke out during a protest in south Delhi’s Jamia on Sunday even as the police have named former Okhla legislator Asif Mohd Khan, at least four other local politicians and three student leaders for inciting the protesters in the first information report (FIR).

None of the arrested men are students of Jamia Millia Islamia, Chinmoy Biswal, deputy commissioner of police (south-east), said. “Five of these seven men are bad characters (people with a long criminal past). Even the other five men have previous criminal involvements,” the DCP said. The officer said that the men have been involved in robberies, assaults, carrying illegal firearms and assaulting public servants previously.

All the men were sent to 14 days judicial custody by a city court in the evening.

The investigating officer told the court that the arrested men were identified via video footage as well as by the police personnel on duty. However, all the men told the court that they were innocent and were being framed by the police.

The DCP said that the men were arrested between Monday evening and early Tuesday. “Six of them belong to Jamia Nagar. The other four live in areas like Taimoor Nagar and Shaheen Bagh,” the DCP said.

Another investigator said that a few more suspects have been identified and more arrests will follow in the next few days. The investigator said that none of the arrested or identified people are students.

Meanwhile, in the FIR registered at Jamia Nagar police station, the police mentioned that former Okhla MLA Khan and a few other local politicians had been instigating the crowd for the “last two-three days” and that they were “roaming around students to raise slogans”.

Khan denied the allegations and challenged the police to produce a single video that showed him instigating the crowd. “There were so many people recording the events. If the police can produce a single video to prove their claim, I will happily go to jail,” Khan said.

DCP Biswal said that investigations into the roles of all those named in the FIR, including Khan and several unnamed persons, is on. The police are yet to summon him for interrogation.