FIR against 25 JNU students for confining V-C, obstructing entry to admin block

Ten days after JNU V-C M Jagadesh Kumar was confined to his office by a group of students who had erected a blockade against UGC regulations on admission policy, the police have registered an FIR against 25 students in the case.

The police have so far not divulged the details of the case but have claimed to have named around 25 students in the FIR which was registered at Vasant Kunj North police station in South Delhi. The police had deliberated on the complaint by Jagadesh Kumar and later registered the FIR after they found merit in the case.

According to a senior police official from South district: “He (Jagadesh Kumar), had filed the complaint five days after the incident. We examined the contents of the complaint and after careful deliberations we found merit in the case and decided to proceed with the FIR. The V-C has named ten students in the FIR. But we managed to find around 14-15 students involved in the case. They will be contacted soon and questioned in connection with the case,” the official added.

The incident took place on February 27, when a group of students had protested against the V-C for not listening to their demands. The students then started a fortnight blockade to get the V-C to talk to them regarding their demands. The students have been protesting the approval given to the May 2016 UGC Gazette Notification giving primacy to interviews in M Phil and PHD admissions by the University. The students named in the FIR then followed the V-C and his staff to the admin block.

The V-C had also alleged in his complaint that he was unwell and had been forcefully confined in his office. Additional Commissioner of Police, Chinmoy Biswal (South) said: “The group of students was adamant to meet the V-C to discuss some issues. But since he was unwell, he had called a doctor to visit him. But the students did not allow the doctor to see him and confined him too in an office.”

Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Thursday directed the police to ensure that the V-C and other officials are not stopped from entering or exiting the varsity’s administrative block. The court also asked to not conduct any protest or dharna within 100 metre of the administrative block.

‘The V-C has named ten students in the FIR. But we managed to find around 14-15 students involved in the case’