Ten people with criminal backgrounds have been arrested in connection with the violence that erupted during protests at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday, 15 December, news agency ANI reported. According to the report, no student has been arrested.
The university had turned into a battlefield on Sunday as police entered the campus and used brute force to contain protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, resulting in violence and arson.
No Bullet Fired: MHA Officials
According to PTI, Home Ministry officials said that no bullet was fired by police during the protests at Jamia on Sunday.
“No bullet was fired by the Delhi Police during protests at Jamia. All 10 persons detained have criminal background. More anti-social elements are being tracked," the officials said, citing a Delhi Police report.
There have been allegations that police fired bullets on protesters during the agitation at Jamia.
University VC Wants Probe Into Violence
Speaking to the media on Monday, University Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar demanded a high-level inquiry into the police action on Sunday.
Delhi Police had said that the crime branch will investigate the violence in which four DTC buses, 100 private vehicles and 10 police bikes were damaged and asserted that it used "maximum restrain, minimum force" despite being "provoked" by protesters.
‘Uneducated and Have No Idea About Protest’: Arrested Men
The ten men arrested for the Jamia violence say they have little knowledge about the Citizenship Amendment Act, reports the Hindustan Times. A vegetable vendor, Sharif Taj Mohammad, has said that he was smoking beedi when he was arrested by the police while another man arrested, Gaffar Manzil claimed he was not a part of any protest. However, Hanif's father said he had attended the protest to "show solidarity for the students." According to the Hindustan Times report, Danish Jaffar said that he is "uneducated" and had "no idea about the protest." The men's lawyer has said that the arrested men have a criminal record and so, they were "soft targets for the police."
Cops had entered the campus of the university without permission and beat up students and staff, Waseem Ahmed Khan, Chief Proctor of the varsity told news agency ANI.
Students of Jamia alleged that policemen entered the university campus and started firing tear gas. A university official told news agency PTI that the police also blocked university gates.
Dozens of students were detained from the campus, and at least 60 – including students and policemen – got injured in the ruckus.
The detained students were released by Delhi Police in the wee hours of Monday.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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