Jamia Violence: Delhi Police Serves Notices on 10 Varsity Students

On Tuesday, a Delhi Police Crime Branch team visited the Jamia Millia Islamia campus.

Armed policemen enter the reading hall and beat up students.

(Photo: The Quint/ Screen grab of the fresh video)

The Delhi Police on Wednesday, 19 February, served notices on ten students of Jamia Millia Islamia, asking them to appear before it for questioning in connection with the 15 December violence during an anti-CAA protest and the alleged police crackdown at the university that took place subsequently.

A team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch visited the university campus on Wednesday and handed over the notices to the students, a senior police officer said, according to PTI.

The students who have been called for questioning included some of those detained on the night of the incident, some identified through CCTV video clips that surfaced recently, and some of those suffering injuries on that day, the officer said.

Delhi Police Inspects Jamia Library

A Delhi Police Crime Branch team visited the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on Tuesday, as a series of videos of the 15 December violence inside the university emerged over the past few days.

Four videos have surfaced online of the incident, the latest being on Monday.

The team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo visited the varsity's library that was badly damaged during the alleged police action inside the campus last year, according to officials.

They also interacted with faculty and examined a few students. Chief Proctor was requested to help in securing presence of students whom SIT wants to examine.

This is for the first time that a police team is visiting the campus for investigation after the violence, they said.

Members of the team analysed and videographed the extent of damage to the library. They also visited the proctor's office, the officials said. The case is being probed by the Crime Branch.

"We need to examine many people in connection with the case and also need to collect evidence. We have also requested the Jamia administration to share all the videos that they have related to the incident," a senior police official said, according to PTI.

There was a tactical reason why police did not go to the varsity earlier, he said.

"We wanted the situation to normalise and wanted students to finish their exams. We are also trying to identify those who were seen in the video," the officer said.

He said the SIT interacted with faculty members and also “examined a few students”.

"The chief proctor was requested to help in securing the presence of students whom the SIT desires to examine. The team was at the university for about three hours," the official added, according to PTI.

Police Seen Thrashing Students in Jamia Library

In a video that emerged on Sunday, paramilitary and police personnel can be seen thrashing students in the library. Two other videos, which appeared hours later, showed some youths with covered faces entering the library.

In the Monday video, police personnel can be seen raining batons on students who were trying to escape. Women students can be seen moving out while pleading with the police and one of the policemen is seen breaking a camera.

On 15 December, police had used batons and teargas shells to disperse a violent mob during a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). They entered the university campus, saying that rioters had taken shelter there.

However, Jamia students had denied that they were involved in the violence and had alleged police brutality.

On Monday, a Delhi court directed the police to file a status report on whether it was investigating the officers who had allegedly barged into Jamia Millia Islamia and lathi-charged students. The court has also sought an overall status report from the Delhi Police on the ongoing investigation in the case related to the violence near the varsity during the protest.

Two Petitions Filed in SC by Students’ Lawyer

Jamia Millia Islamia students' lawyer Nabila Hasan on Tuesday said, “We are filing two petitions in Supreme Court, one for the registration of the FIR against the police officials relying on CCTV and testimonies, and second with respect to 10 February 2020 incident."

She said that the petition is being filed particularly on account of the fact that “the approach taken by the Honourable High Court hearing this matter has left the students and teachers of Jamia demoralised and dispirited and with the impression that the access to justice may be very difficult to attain in that court.”

“Even though the attack by the police was brutal in the extreme, not a single FIR was registered against the police though a number of FIRs were filed against the injured victims,” it further read.

The petition also includes names of 26 complainants and the injuries sustained by them during the attack inside the library.

(With inputs from PTI)