JNU students union president arrested, sparks outrage

Special Commissioner of Police (Operations) Sundari Nanda, who monitors Delhi Police’s Twitter handles, said, “When the tweet was brought to our notice, we, as a law enforcement agency, issued the alert based on its content which was found to be anti-national”.

Kanhaiya told the court that he was neither shouting any slogan nor saying anything against integrity of the country and said he had rushed to the spot only to prevent a clash between ABVP workers and students organising the event.

Kanhaiya, booked for sedition, was arrested on Friday over a protest organised in the premier institute’s premises in New Delhi on February 9 against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The alert was issued by one of Delhi Police’s official twitter handles on Friday, on which it said, “This is to alert and sensitise the student community in JNU and across the country”. He has been remanded in police custody for three days.

The political leadership of Kashmir on Saturday expressed anguish over the government of India’s response to the protests held in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, on the execution anniversary of Afzal Guru. “It’s clear that all the Sangh affiliates want to tarnish the image of JNU”, said Vishwajeet, National general secretary, All India Students Federation (AISF).

“I dissociate myself from the slogans”.

The university campus has witnessed events in support of Guru in the past as well. “What is happening in JNU?”

“…Male police are going and raiding girls’ hostels”. When you don’t know then how are you arresting all the student leaders? “Sovereignty is a secular idea, so why is there even an argument if the government takes steps to protect it. In JNU those who raised slogans Pakistan zindabad, Bharat ke barbadi tak jang jari rahega are worse than enemy”.

“The presence of police in the campus and such indiscriminate arrests had last happened during the Emergency”, a CPI-M statement said.

In an apparent reference to BJP student wing ABVP, Patel alleged attempts are being made by a student union to take control of the JNU campus. It said its members “hold no brief for those who raised objectionable slogans”.

Calling JNU Vice-Chancellor’s response as saddening and that of home minister of India Rajnath Singh’s as outrageous, they de-manded an unconditional withdrawal of police personnel from campuses.

The union, however, condemned “in the strongest possible words the high-handed police action”. “The nation will never tolerate an insult to mother India”, the minister told reporters.

The university administration claimed that it had cancelled permission for the event, which was allegedly pitched as a cultural function.

The case was registered yesterday under Section of 124 A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC against unknown persons at Vasant Kunj (North) Police station following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP.