New Delhi, Police and JNU students were injured after they clashed during a march by the students’ union here on Thursday, with police claiming that they were assaulted but the protesters, many of who have been detained, alleged that the cops used excessive force against them.
Saying protesters pelted sticks and shoes and resorted to physical assault, injuring several cops, some of whom were even “bitten” during the altercation, police lodged an FIR against the students.
Police said around 25 police personnel, including ACP Ved Prakash, ACP Sanghamitra, SHO Atul Tyagi and SHO Ajai Yadav, were injured.
JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aditi Mishra, former president Nitish Kumar were among the 51 protesters detained after the students clashed with the police at the college gate when they tried to take the rally out of the campus.
The students had given a call for a “Long March” from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus to the Ministry of Education office, police said in a statement.
The march was part of the ongoing protests over JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit’s recent remarks on a podcast over the implementation of University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, rustication of JNUSU office bearers, and the proposed Rohith Act.
The protesters also alleged that excessive force was used against them due to which many students were injured. Some of the protesters were taken to “unconfirmed locations” by the police, claimed the university’s teachers’ body.
The JNUSU also alleged that a portrait of B R Ambedkar was damaged during the police action. Purported videos of the clash surfaced online, including one showing an Ambedkar photo snatched from the protesters.>
