NEW DELHI: A day after Jamia Millia Islamia witnessed heightened tensions amid the welding of campus gates, imposition of prohibitory orders and disruption of essential utilities, the university administration on Wednesday alleged widespread vandalism on campus through the night of October 27, claiming that gates, boundary walls and CCTV infrastructure were damaged.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the university expressed “profound shock, dismay, and deep concern” over the incidents, alleging that groups of protesting students along with locals vandalised university property, brought down Gate No. 4C, pelted stones and damaged the CCTV control room, cameras and their connections.
The allegations came amid an ongoing student agitation demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU), with students continuing their hunger strike and protests despite repeated attempts by the administration to negotiate an end to the standoff.
The administration said its proctorial team and teachers rushed to the campus after receiving reports of the attacks. It also alleged that a group of masked protesters reached the boys’ hostels in an attempt to mobilise additional support. Women faculty members, wardens and provosts were allegedly threatened when they tried to reason with female protesters, the university said.
The university said the incidents followed a week of repeated instances of gates and boundary walls being scaled, damaged or broken, but maintained that the scale and intensity of the destruction on October 27 were particularly concerning. It claimed videos, CCTV footage and social media posts indicated that heavy iron rods, hammers and other tools had been used to damage infrastructure.
The statement also pointed to what it described as a contradiction between the students’ participation in negotiations and the alleged vandalism that followed. Tuesday evening’s meeting was the seventh attempt by the administration to hold dialogue, it said.
The allegations came two days after the administration announced that classes would be shifted online until November 8, while access to libraries and reading rooms was curtailed and students were asked to vacate hostel accommodation, moves that protesting students had criticised as attempts to prevent participation in the agitation. Campus gates were also reportedly welded amid heightened tensions, while Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was invoked in the area outside the university.
The university said the damage had raised serious concerns about the safety of students and staff, as well as the security of classrooms, laboratories, libraries and campus entrances and exits.