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‘Kashmiri, Muslim students’ rooms targeted’ — many JNU students leave hostel after violence

Masked assailants attacked hostels inside JNU campus Sunday, leaving several injured. Hostel residents say ‘specific rooms’ were targeted.

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New Delhi: Hours after violence broke out inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in the national capital, many students left their hostel rooms even as others on the campus expressed fear over “targeted” violence towards Kashmiri and Muslim students.

On Monday, ThePrint team found locked rooms at the Sabarmati hostel inside the campus, with some Kashmiri and Muslim student residents having left the hostel.

Sabarmati was among the hostels that were allegedly targeted by masked assailants late Sunday after a scuffle broke out between two groups of students during a meeting of the teachers’ association. At least 18 students and teachers were injured in the violence.

Broken glass shards and shattered window panes lay all across the entrance of Sabarmati hostel, which was close to the venue where the teachers meet took place.

The girls wing of the Sabarmati Hostel in JNU
The girls wing of the Sabarmati Hostel in JNU. | Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

While some hostel residents left, others still staying inside the campus expressed fear and alleged involvement of ABVP members in the violence.

Speaking to ThePrint, some of the students who were present in the hostel at the time of violence said the assailants targeted specific rooms — ones that belonged either to a Kashmiri or a Muslim student. Two such rooms that ThePrint visited were locked, with other students claiming the occupants had left.

“It was a horror last night… Some goondas (goons) with covered faces entered the hostel and started attacking rooms. They specifically targeted rooms of Kashmiri and Muslim students.

A masked mob entered the JNU campus on Sunday, 5 January and beat up students and teachers and vandalised the campus
A masked mob entered the JNU campus Sunday and beat up students and teachers and vandalised the campus. | Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

“Rooms that belonged to the members of ABVP were not even touched. What does that mean? It just means that the attack was premeditated and members of ABVP were involved in the attack,” said a Sabarmati hostel resident, who didn’t wish to be named.

“They were definitely not from JNU, we can say that much… There was one girl also among the attackers and we’ve been told that she was from DU (Delhi University) ABVP unit,” she alleged.

A second hostel resident, who did not want to be identified, said, “I was sitting in my room when some people started attacking the room next to me. The guy who lives next to me is a Kashmiri… He got really scared and started calling for help from inside his room.

“I could not even get out and help because next they came for my room. We were all hiding, trying to save our life,” said the second resident.


Also read: Delhi Police says masked JNU attackers were students, not outsiders


‘Against the ethos of JNU’

While most hostel residents told ThePrint that the assailants were outsiders, both the JNU administration and the Delhi Police pinned the blame on students.

In a second statement released Monday morning, the JNU administration said the students obstructed academic activities.

“The origin of the present situation in JNU lies in some agitating students turning violent and obstructing the academic activities of a large number of non-protesting students,” JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar said.

“The protesting students damaged the university communication servers to disrupt the winter semester registration. They prevented thousands of students from doing their winter registration. Their intent is clearly aimed at disrupting the functioning of the university.

“This is simply hooliganism and against the ethos of JNU. No such person will be spared and appropriate action will be taken,” he added.

On its part, the Delhi Police, which has been accused of inaction during the violence, also held the students responsible for the events.

“They are all students. They are all from JNU. We have not yet identified them,” a senior police officer had told ThePrint Sunday.


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2 COMMENTS

  1. Why did the Delhi Police allow this to happen. Who will take ownership of this grotesque failure of law and order in India’s finest university. Will someone have the decency – like the Wardens – to resign, or be sacked. The police seem to oscillate between hyperactivity and lassitude. Masked intruders walking past them after an honest day’s toil.

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