New Delhi, February 23: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi is once again at the center of controversy. On Monday night, clashes erupted between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members and leftist supporters, resulting in injuries to 12-14 students who were admitted to the emergency ward at Safdarjung Hospital.
JNU media coordinator Vijay Jaiswal reported that around 3 AM, leftist students launched an attack. This group, which had been protesting for the past 7-8 days, marched from Sabarmati T-point to the Vice Chancellor’s gate. They had premeditated plans to confront ABVP activists. Consequently, leftist students engaged in clashes with others in the school area.
Jaiswal stated that mob-like behavior was evident during the incident. Students from the opposing group arrived masked and attacked with rods and sticks. He alleged that approximately 400 individuals participated, with leftist supporters outnumbering the opposing students. Some faces were captured on video, revealing that they were not JNU students.
Among the injured ABVP students, Pratik Bhardwaj recounted his experience. “I don’t know which floor I was on. I ran around to save myself. There was an open bathroom, and I locked myself inside. About half an hour later, a group of at least 150 people arrived. They noticed the door was locked and began to break it down. They filled the bathroom with smoke and powder from a fire extinguisher. I have photos taken at that time,” he said.
Bhardwaj mentioned that JNU security eventually arrived and helped him out. The opposing group was also arguing with the police. Other ABVP students had arrived by then. After being rescued, he was sent to the hospital. Although he is improving, he is not fully recovered.
Manish Chaudhary, Vice President of the ABVP JNU unit, stated, “A group protested against the restrictions imposed at the university and announced a sit-in at the Vice Chancellor’s residence. Typically, any protest should be notified 48 hours in advance, which did not happen. They entered the campus, and since regular students were not participating in their protest, they decided to play the victim card.”
Chaudhary added that the protesting students began locking various areas of the campus and mistreating other students. As tensions escalated, stone-pelting occurred, injuring several ABVP members.
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