Protests against India student leader’s arrest spread

Joining the chorus of protest in the JNU row, historians and writers, including Romila Thapar and Jeet Thayil, have condemned the slapping of a sedition case against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and said police action should not replace “dialogue” at any educational institution.

While one of the three lawyers has been identified as Vikram Singh Chauhan, names of the other two have not been disclosed by the police. “His parents said they have full confidence in the party”, Reddy told PTI.

Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi, however, denied that Kumar was assaulted in the court on Wednesday and justified the sedition charge.

I also spoke to a faculty member from JNU who was present outside the Court premises.

Boasting about his action, he confronted the media saying, “We have done our job for today”. He added that by allowing the police to enter the campus and raid hostels, the Vice-Chancellor had made his role suspect in the eyes of JNU’s academic community.

Rahul Yadav, President of ABVP unit of JNU’s School of Social Sciences (SSS) and its Secretary Ankit Hans have also said they have quit. There was no need for his custodial interrogation as he has already been sent to judicial custody, he contended.

The attack occurred ahead of a hearing on the case related to Kumar.

Earlier during the day, Luthra mentioned the matter before the bench alleging that Delhi Police was being pressurised not to oppose the bail application of Kumar.

Meanwhile, in Patna, the state capital of Bihar, protests led to clashes between activists of the All India Students Federation (AISF) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS student wing. But is this new video truly clinching proof of sedition charges against Kanhaiya or is this just an attempt to spin what really happened? Student protests in support of Kumar were also reported from Jadavpur in West Bengal and in Bengaluru.

Kumar, the 28-year-old leader of the student union at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), faces trial over his role in a protest last week that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s backers have branded as “anti-national”.

The court then said it would take up Kanhaiya’s bail plea at 10.30 tomorrow morning.

The protesters were outraged by nationally televised scenes of Kanhaiya Kumar, the student union president at Jawaharlal Nehru University, being kicked and punched while he was escorted to a court hearing Wednesday, renewing allegations that the Hindu nationalist governing party is intolerant.