The Delhi police on Sunday entered the Jamia Millia Islamia University campus, where students were peacefully protesting for three days against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and fired tear gas cannons in the library and lathi-charged students to disperse the mob.
The police also reportedly dragged students out of the library and campus mosque, and marched them out with their hands in the air and detained them.
Nearly 100 people were reportedly injured in the violence that took place on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses claim Indian security forces are using live ammunition against unarmed protesters at Jamia Millia University.#CitizenshipAmendmentAct pic.twitter.com/5yyPCNI4vr
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) December 15, 2019
Police is trying to enter Library. Students are stuck inside.
They are lobbing tear gas all over campus.
Video is captured 10 min back.
Pl spread the word. Jamia VC is not doing anything to save students.
How can police enter university campus. pic.twitter.com/2Oznm4Eahh
— Wabi Sabi جاوید (@ryder_bey) December 15, 2019
Shame on you @DelhiPolice You’re burning Buses yourself and blaming it on Students of Jamia Milila. This is terrorism of Delhi Police. @LtGovDelhi @CPDelhi @AJEnglish @BBCHindi #DelhiPoliceGundaGardi pic.twitter.com/g4nyVfbUId
— United Against Hate (@UAH_India) December 15, 2019
Jamia vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar claimed that the police did not take the university administration’s permission before entering the campus. “Police were after a huge group indulging in things near Jullena. When they went after them, some people entered the university for safety. So police entered after them without our permission,” Akhtar told The Indian Express.
Prof. Najma Akhtar, VC, JMI says the @DelhiPolice entered the campus without permission and thrashed students studying in the library. She assures that she would pursue the matter to the highest level. #JamiaMilia #Jamia #JamiaProtest pic.twitter.com/yKVFiBnz0B
— Zafar Abbas (@zafarabbaszaidi) December 15, 2019
According to the police, the protestors present outside the university were chased by the police into the campus. Students, however, issued a statement dissociating themselves from the violence.
Before the police entered the campus, four public buses and two police vehicles were set on fire in New Friends Colony.
Fifty students from the university were detained during the day at two different police stations and were released late on Sunday night.
Several students were badly injured, including those who claimed that they were not a part of the protest. Some said that the police deliberately turned lights off so that the campus CCTV cameras would not capture the violence. Some alleged that female students were also sexually abused.
Professor Akhtar said the use of tear gas cannons was wrong. “Students are scared and this is wrong. We have spoken to everybody. My registrar has spoken to the joint commissioner on the entire matter.”
How to rescue a victim during a #lynching incident.
Real life demo by women students of #Jamia— Natasha Badhwar (@natashabadhwar) December 15, 2019
Several metro stations around the university campus were shut down after the protests turned violent and were reopened only on Monday morning.
Reports of police violence were also reported from Aligarh Muslim University, including allegations that the police tried to enter locked women’s hostels.
Post Jamia Violence
Large numbers of students from across Delhi gathered at the police headquarters at ITO to protest and shouted slogans demanding the immediate release of all detained students, as well as action against the police for the campus violence.
Protests were also seen at Aligarh Muslim University, Hyderabad’s Maulana Azad Urdu University, Banaras Hindu University, and IIT-Bombay.
The Logical Indian Take
The Logical Indian is against any form of violence or damage of public property whether it is by police or the protestors.
But at the same time, we believe the job of the police is to deescalate a situation and stop it from going out of proportion while upholding the law Strict action must be taken against those involved in violence and if police have broken the law, then stricter action must be taken against them.
Also Read: ‘Police Barged Inside Campus, Fired Tear Gas’: Jamia University Students Narrate Horrifying Tale
