NEW DELHI: “There was a loud sound, like a firecracker burst. Then came the shrieking voices…I stepped out of the room and saw students running, praying for their lives. They were scared, traumatised, tensed. An atmosphere of panic had suddenly gripped the campus.”
A student of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Sabarmati Hostel, the first among those attacked on Sunday night, described the mayhem vividly.
“Several students knocked my door seeking refuge. They came from other hostels. I saw from the balcony that around 30 men with their faces covered had broken a glass door of the Sabarmati Hostel. I tried to identify them but couldn’t. After they left, I went downstairs and saw students sitting at corners, badly injured but luckily not bleeding,” she said.
“I went to check out my other friends in other hostels. Suddenly, I was stopped by a few masked men. Luckily, I was carrying pepper spray in the bag and sprayed it on their face. They stepped back and I ran back to my hostel. The situation is very bad here. Many have started leaving the campus. Some claimed themselves to be police wielding sticks in civil uniform. We tried to contact the police many times but got no response.”
There was unanimity among students on the scenes that unfolded. A number of students said, initially some 20 ABVP students gathered in front of Periyar hostel with sticks, bats, rods and stumps shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.
They said it was impossible to say whether they were all students of the university for their faces were covered with mufflers and caps.
“They started beating up students passing through the Periyar route and threatened anyone around the area. They disrupted the JNU Teachers’ Association meeting at the T point and beat up students and teachers. One teacher was bleeding from the head and was taken away on a bike,” a Philosophy student said.
A PhD scholar recalled the terrifying events saying, “There were loud noises and screams. It started with one group raising slogans and threatening and then another running for their lives. The attackers had assembled on the road in the evening and stood silently as if waiting for some signal to attack. Suddenly stones and then bricks were thrown at students. Students were running directionless, some seeking shelter at professors’ residences.”
“The goons were targeting anyone who came in their way. The situation improved a bit later in the evening, but we are scared, fearing for our lives. Many have locked themselves up in bathrooms and are not reachable,” she added.
Yogendra Yadav manhandled
Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav was allegedly manhandled outside the JNU campus after clashes broke out between members of the students’ union and the ABVP. Yadav said the “hooliganism” was not stopped and he was not allowed to speak to the media.
Nishank urges JNU students to stay calm
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ urged JNU students to maintain the dignity of the university and peace on the campus, as his ministry sought an immediate report from the registrar Pramod Kumar on the violence that erupted there on Sunday night. “The violence on JNU campus is worrisome and unfortunate. I condemn it. I appeal students to maintain the dignity of university and peace on campus,” Nishank tweeted.
Peace restored in JNU campus: Delhi Police
An officer said peace has been restored in JNU. “We were informed that there was a clash between two groups of students. The JNU administration sought police assistance from us in writing,” Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Anand Mohan said. DCP (Southwest) said private and public vehicles were damaged.
Protests in AMU after JNU violence
Days after unrest in the campus over the contentious citizenship law, protests were held at the Aligarh Muslim University late on Sunday night against violence at JNU. A spokesperson for the protesting students said that a march was held at night to express solidarity with the JNU students, who were attacked by masked men armed with sticks. In a statement, the AMU Teachers’ Association (AMUTA) condemned the violence.