JNU Student Alleges Assault Inside Hostel Room, ABVP Denies Role

A post-graduate student in JNU has alleged that ABVP members beat him in his hostel “without any provocation.”

Vivek Pandey, a member of All India Students’ Association (AISA), has alleged that members of the ABVP beat him in his hostel “without provocation”.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A postgraduate student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has alleged that he was attacked by another group of students, allegedly belonging to the right-wing student group ABVP, inside his hostel on Wednesday, 2 September, night.

In his FIR, Vivek Pandey, a member of All India Students’ Association (AISA), said he was in his room when a group of students knocked on his door and started beating him up “without any provocation.”

AISA national president N Sai Balaji shared a video of Pandey narrating the incident. Pandey, in the video, can be heard saying: "When I opened the door of my room, one person asked me if I had complained against him to the hostel authorities. I told him that I had no knowledge of any complaint but by then he had started beating me and punching me."

In a statement, AISA said, “ABVP has, on many occasions, terrorised and brutalised students in Mahi Mandavi Hostel! We must not forget that in the same hostel, JNU student Najeeb was brutalised by ABVP following which he disappeared. This is the same ABVP who attacked students and professors on 5 January, brutalising professors and JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh. The perpetrators were shielded by Delhi Police and given total impunity.”

ABVP Denies Allegations

Denying the allegations, Shivam Chaurasia, ABVP president of JNU unit, told The Quint: "These allegations are entirely baseless. We are planning to file a defamation complaint against AISA for maligning our organisation. It should be submitted to the concerned police station by evening today (3 September)."

In a statement later in the day, the ABVP said, “If something really happened, university administration must conduct a fair inquiry. Any further allegations with an intention to defame ABVP will lead to legal action.”