Police lodge 2 FIRS over JNU protest
FEE HIKE Rioting among charges levelled on the protesting students
NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police lodged two FIRS on Tuesday in connection with the protest by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students over a hostel fee hike, a senior police official said.
One FIR was registered at the Kishangarh police station, while another was lodged at the Lodhi Colony police station, he added.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur, a case under Indian Penal Code sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) was registered at the Lodhi Colony police station regarding Monday’s incident at Aurobindo Marg.
IPC sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 151 (knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were also added to the FIR, Thakur said.
There was no immediate reaction from the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU). Hundreds of JNU students rocked the national capital on Monday, bringing several parts of the city to a halt. The students took out a protest march opposing the recent fee hike, against which an agitation has been going on for over three weeks. During their clash with the police, the students alleged that they were baton-charged by the men in uniform. However, top police officials denied using force against the students.
According to the police, nearly 30 police personnel and 15 students were injured during the eight-hour protest, in which thousands of students from different universities across the national capital took part.
There was a heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel outside the main gate of the JNU campus, even before the march commenced. Water cannons and PCR vans were also stationed outside.
Before the protest began, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry set up a threemember committee to recommend ways to restore the normal functioning of the university and initiate a dialogue with the students and the administration.
The protesters took out the march around noon, broke the first set of barricades at the main gate of the campus and proceeded towards Baba Gangnath Marg, where another set of barricades awaited them.
The police detained about 100 protestors, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, secretary Satish Chandra Yadav and former JNUSU president N Sai Balaji.the students were ultimately stopped outside the Safdarjung Tomb, where, they alleged, the police baton-charged them, an allegation denied by the men in uniform. On Saturday, an FIR was registered against unidentified persons over an incident of “defacement” of the JNU’S administration block.
REGISTRAR REFUSES TO MEET GOVT-APPOINTED PANEL MEMBERS: JNUSU Meanwhile, the JNU students’ union alleged on Tuesday that the registrar of the university refused to meet the members of the HRD Ministry-appointed panel for mediating between the agitating students and the administration and recommending ways to restore the normal functioning of the varsity.
The Jawaharlal Nehru University S t ude nt s ’ Uni o n (JNUSU), which has been leading the agitation against a hostel fee hike for three weeks, said the strike would not be called off until their demands were met.
“We have got to know that the registrar refused to meet the HRD Ministry-appointed panel to mediate between us and the university. See their high-handedness. When they can refuse to entertain government representatives, how can they be expected to talk to us,” JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh told reporters here.