NEW DELHI: Investigating agencies on Monday claimed they had enough evidence against arrested JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar to ‘nail’ him on sedition charges and carrying out ‘anti-national’ activities on campus. They also claimed they had a prima facie report of the high-power inquiry committee formed by JNU vice-chancellor Jagdeesh Kumar, which stated that Kumar and seven students were present when “unconstitutional slogans” were raised.
According to the agencies, the report said the accused persons had made a “misrepresentation of the proposed event as a cultural evening although the objective was to hold a political meeting”. They said the report alleged the students were, “Forcefully holding the event even when the permission to hold was withdrawn by the Dean of Students.” They further quoted it as saying the students shouted “unconstitutional slogans, making derogatory remarks about the incident” and created a law and order situation on campus.
Delhi police, the investigating agency, in its internal report prepared on Monday and accessed by Express stated eye-witnesses said Kumar was present at Sabarmati Hostel and Ganga Dabha where the event was organised and where a group of students were indulging in ‘anti-national activities’.
“Eyewitnesses also stated that he asked the JNU security officials to remove other students from the front and allow the procession to march ahead which was followed by jostling and heckling, thus causing a law and order problem,” the report stated. It also said Kumar was present when a group was shouting ‘anti-national’ slogans in the video footage.
Meanwhile, police is unlikely to arrest the other accused students. Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Reyaz-ul-Haq, some of the accused, surfaced at JNU campus after 10 days and carried out protests against the police for ‘framing’ them. Sources said police would take action against them after the Delhi High Court hears Kumar’s bail plea on Tuesday.
Kumar had on February 18 directly moved the Supreme Sourt seeking bail claiming threat to his life in jail. He was arrested on February 12. The student leader was produced before the court on February 17 after police custody expired, where a group of men in lawyers’ robes unleashed a brazen attack on him and others present there.