'Were Asked To Step Out With Rods, Pepper Spray’: ABVP Joint Secretary Admits Involvement In JNU Violence

After the brutal attack on the students and teachers of JNU on Sunday, January 5, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s(ABVP) Delhi State Joint Secretary Anima Sonkar admitted that the members were asked to ‘step out with rods, bars, pepper spray.’

In a panel discussion on Times Now on Monday, January 6, Sonkar also claimed that two members of ABVP were carrying rods in JNU in ‘complete self-defence.’

During the debate, Sonkar was asked to explain why two ABVP members were standing with sticks in hand in a video that had surfaced online.

“In all the WhatsApp groups, so much panic was spread, so much threatens… calls were given that whenever you are stepping out, step out in groups, step out while you have rods, bars, whatever you get handy, pepper spray, somebody has acid. I have not even heard or seen any case of acid attack or something,” Sonkar said.

She further admitted that two ABVP members were armed at JNU in ‘complete self-defence.’ A video of the discussion shared by the news channel on Twitter soon went viral.

#JNUHiddenTruth | Listen in: ABVP Delhi State Jt Secretary ‘explains’ the video of alleged ABVP violence in JNU. | @thenewshour AGENDA with Padmaja Joshi. pic.twitter.com/eiYgZIn531

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 6, 2020

When the anchor asked Sonkar whether she was admitting that the men in the video were from the ABVP, Sonkar said, “Yes, Vikas Patel is our activist. I am not disowning… It’s self-defence, complete self-defence.”

However, she later refused to identify the people in the video and said that she only accepted that a man named Vikas Patel is an ABVP activist.

The National Students’ Union of India also shared the video, saying, “We would like to thank the Joint Secretary of @ABVPVoice, Ms @AnimaSonkar, for publicly accepting that goons behind the #JNUTerrorAttack were from ABVP, which establishes that #JNUViolence is state-sponsored hooliganism.”

We would like to thank the Joint Secretary of @ABVPVoice, Ms @AnimaSonkar, for publicly accepting that goons behind the #JNUTerrorAttack were from ABVP, which establishes that #JNUViolence is a state-sponsored hooliganism.#AkhilBhartiyaViolenceParishad#ChhatraVirodhiBJP pic.twitter.com/cME9GVTvxh

— NSUI (@nsui) January 6, 2020

On Monday, India TV had put out unmasked images of the mob that barged into the University with iron roads and sticks. Two of the goons were identified as Vikas Patel, an ABVP activist, and Shiv Poojan Mandal also said to be affiliated with the ABVP.

Sonkar’s statements come in stark contrast to the ABVP’s claims that its members were not armed in JNU. They had also alleged that Leftist students were behind the attack.

Also Read: Unmasked Faces Of Mob That Attacked JNU Campus Revealed: Report