The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
FIR to threats on video: Meet man leading ABVP charge
WHEN HE was campaigning to get elected to the post of Delhi University Students’ Union president in 2015-2016, one of his campaign lines was, “Fortuner Mein Rawana, Satender Awana”. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Awana went on to become the president of the union last year, and had a controversial tenure.
Today, the 24-year-old is among the leading faces of the ABVP protests against “anti-nationals and Communists” at Delhi University for the past one week. He was also present at the protest outside the Police Headquarters on Wednesday.
Awana has been a wellknown and controversial figure in the university for over a year now. He was accused of beating up a teacher at Shri Ram College of Commerce in June last year, after which the police registered an FIR against him.
Awana has also been accused of threatening two journalists, who were speaking to DU students about sexual consent, last year.
Since Tuesday, a video of him threatening the dean of the DU Law Faculty has been shared by many on social media. The widely-circulated video — which was shot after a lathicharge was ordered on students protesting and demanding admit cards to sit for semester-end examinations — was shot in December.
In the video, Awana can be heard saying, “Aapne police kyun bulayee? Kya aapke baap ki university hai? President hain aap? Victoria? Agar tu soch rahi hai tu akalmand hai toh saare akalmand hain. Buddhi mat lagaiyo zyada. Sabko admit card milega, samajh gayee?... Ya toh apna bhavishya kharab karke jayegi, ya jahan jayegi vahan kharab ho jayegi. Dhamki samajh liyo isko ya kuch samajh liyo.”
A teacher is then heard telling him to speak with respect. To this, he says, “Nahi hoon main student, badtameez hoon. Poora samman kho diya inhone mahila hone ka aur teacher hone ka. Udhar log hume maar rahe hain aur ye bol rahi hain marte ho to mar jao (referring to the lathi charge)... Agar aap soch rahe ho do mahine baad nikal jaoge aur kahin VC ban jaoge aur yahan ek message de jaoge toh... Aise message bahut dekhe hain. Jo lathi charge aapne kal karvaya hai, aapne apni aukaat dikha di. Aap appointed ho... logon ke pair pad ke chaplusi karte ho. Yeh (referring to DUSU members) elected log hain,” he said.
According to Awana, the video was edited heavily to show him in a poor light.
“They have edited out the part where I spoke for the rights of students. That day, we were very angry about the lathicharge ordered on the students. There are many irregularities in the Law Faculty. After the incident, I spoke to the dean and things returned to normal,” said Awana.
Teachers at the Faculty of Law, however, said that they had not provoked Awana and he had misbehaved with them throughout.
Rubbishing all allegations of beating up a teacher at SRCC, he told The Indian Express on Tuesday that there was no violence at all. He had earlier even filed a counter-fir saying the teacher had hit and abused him.
“I never hit the teacher. There is no proof against me. CCTV footage will show that we came out of the college smiling and at ease,” he said.
A student at the Faculty of Law, he joined ABVP in 2010, a year before he joined Delhi University as a BA (programme) student at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (evening).