NEW DELHI: Members of ABVP today alleged that five students, wanted by the police in a sedition case and have surfaced on the campus after being on the run for over 10 days, were hiding in JNU professors' residences and demanded an inquiry into the matter.
"We are very certain that these students are hiding in residences of professors on campus. We demand an enquiry into the same and the teachers supporting these students should also be penalised by the university," Saurabh Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary of JNUSU said in a press meet.
"Last night they suddenly emerged on campus and proudly addressed rallies. A huge gathering of students and teachers even lauded them. We demand that the vice chancellor intervene in this regard and direct the five students to surrender before police. We want JNU administration, varsity security and police to devise a strategy on how that could be facilitated without disrupting the peace on campus," he said.
Five JNU students, including Umar Khalid, who the police have been looking for in connection with a sedition case, yesterday surfaced on the campus, and claimed they did not do anything wrong but were "framed" using a "doctored video".
JNU is caught in a row in connection with an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were alleged to have been raised. JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar is in judicial custody in the sedition case lodged in connection with the event.
ABVP had objected to the February 9 event following which the varsity had cancelled the permission for it but the organisers had gone ahead with the programme.
Bassi meets Jung over JNU row
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi today met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and briefed him about the JNU row, for which the force drew severe criticism from several quarters.
"It was a routine meeting between the Commissioner and the Lt Governor, in which the latter was briefed about the ongoing JNU row," a senior officer said. He said the subject of discussion revolved around the five JNU students, including Umar Khalid, who are facing sedition charges and resurfaced on the varsity campus last night.
The police have been looking for all the five since February 12, the day JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in the sedition case registered over a controversial event on the campus.
Bassi is learnt to have told Jung that the final call about the matter is to be taken by the investigating officer. Earlier in the day, Bassi said if the students were innocent, they should produce evidence. "Police are looking for them, they should join the investigation. If they are innocent, they should produce evidence of their innocence.
"Delhi Police is a law abiding body and we do not indulge in any injustice against anybody. One should also remember that the police comes first in the ladder of justice," he told reporters.
The JNU administration called a meeting of top varsity officials today to discuss the resurfacing of the five students. Police officials, who have been positioned outside the varsity campus since last night after they got inputs about their presence on campus, said they will talk to the Vice Chancellor after the meeting and ask him to direct the students to surrender.