JNU VC mastermind behind January 5 attack: Cong panel

A fact-finding committee of Congress on the JNU violence on Sunday alleged that Vice Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar was the "mastermind" behind it and sought his immediate dismissal and criminal investigation against him. Calling the January 5 violence by masked men "state-sponsored", panel member Sushmita Dev said it recommended that Kumar be dismissed immediately and all appointments in faculty should be probed and an independent inquiry should take place.

The Congress had appointed the four-member factfinding committee to carry out a detailed inquiry into the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). "A criminal investigation must be initiated against the VC, the company that provides security service and members of faculty who conspired with the attackers to unleash violence at Sabarmati hostel, Periyar hostel and other places. The security company's contract must be immediately terminated," the Mahila Congress chief said. Calling Kumar the "mastermind" behind the incident,

Dev said since his appointment in 2016, he meticulously "infiltrated" the university with people in the faculty who did not merit their positions and promoted only those who would be compliant to him and had their inclination to right-wing ideology.

He operates through these members of faculty to orchestrate chaos on campus. The crisis on the campus is a culmination of his misgovernance and autocracy. He deliberately imposed his decision on the university students and teachers without due process and then refused to engage with the duly elected student and teacher representatives which led to the deadlock, she added. "It is clear that the attack on JNU campus was state-sponsored. There is absolutely no doubt about it. The important question is what did the administration and Delhi police do to stop the attack," Dev said.

The other recommendations of the committee included an independent judicial inquiry into the events of January 5 that led to violence on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University. "Fix accountability of the Commissioner of Delhi Police and other police officials because of police failure to act on the emergency calls by the students and faculty members and in light of the overwhelming prima facie evidence that they facilitated the criminal elements on campus," the committee said.

She said there is every reason to believe that the mob that attacked the students and teachers on campus were from the right-wing factions.