The Delhi police searched the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night as five of the six named in a sedition case returned to the campus. As the Monday morning approached, students and media people were seen gathering inside the campus.
The five people who returned to campus after being on the run after being named in the case, are:
- Umar Khaled
- Anant Prakash Narayan
- Ashutosh Kumar
- Rama Naga
- Anirban Bhattacharya
The five students returned to be a part of a protest held on the campus against the suicide of Hyderabad Central University scholar Rohith Vemula on 17 January, according to CNN-IBN.
Also read: The Anatomy of Rohith Vemula’s Suicide
Along with Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) vice president Kanhaiya Kumar, several other students were booked for sedition for an event held on the campus on the third death anniversary of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front co-founder Maqbool Bhat on 9 February 2016.
We have received some information about their reported presence on campus. A police team was rushed to the varsity after we received information that they were spotted.Police Source
JNU Vice Chancellor Jagdesh Kumar has said that the entry for police as well as media persons has been barred for now and a call in this regard will be taken on Monday. The administration has maintained that there is no information on their presence on the campus.
Delhi police is lodged outside the campus as the university has denied entry in the campus.
“Fear Mob Lynching More Than Police”
After being named in the sedition case, the students who had been laying low have said that they feared being lynched by a mob more than the police. They have even said that they are ready to surrender to the police.
We were laying low and did not come to public life because we feared mob lynching and not police.Rama Naga, General Secretary, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU)
Umar Khaled, named by media houses as an anti-national, said in front of the admin block of JNU, on Sunday evening:
My name is Umar Khalid and I’m not a terrorist. The attack (on the university) is not because of the program which was organised on Feburary 9, but because the government needs an excuse to attack us. The media, all this while, presented a lot of things about me. The media trial, this propaganda. I know what my family is going through.Umar Khaled
He has condemned the media trial against him as reports of him being a part of a terrorist group started making rounds.
The five students have said they would surrender themselves if police came to arrest them from the campus.
They are ready for whatever is going to happen. We know there are policemen inside in plain clothes here. We want everything to happen in the glare of the cameras.Shehla Rashid, Vice President, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU)
JNU Uprising
The university students have risen in protest after Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested. The students were joined by thousands of people in protest on Wednesday, 18 February against the government crackdown on the university.
Also read: Students’ Protest Gains Momentum but Will Justice Prevail?
The protesters have gained support internationally after students from Harvard university, American University of Beirut, South African students’ union, and a Pakistani students’ union joined expressed solidarity with them.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, play-wright Girish Karnad, Hyderabad University, Aligarh University, Delhi University, IIT Bombay, FTII, and various colleges from across the country have joined the JNU protests.
They have, however, faced opposition from ABVP, the student body of BJP, for being “anti-national”. However, the members of ABVP have also started quitting the organisation due to their stance.
Also read: JNU Row: Cracks in ABVP? Three Members Quit Over Differences
A report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had said that the JNU students’ union president was subjected to psychological torture. Kanhaiya Kumar has been remanded to judicial custody till 2 March and is in Tihar jail.
Also read: JNUSU VC Calls For Another Solidarity March on Saturday
His bail plea will be heard on Tuesday, 23 February. The Supreme Court refused to hear his bail plea on Friday saying the matter had to go to an appropriate court. His bail plea was then registered in Delhi High Court.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)