New Delhi: On 15 December 2019, the Delhi Police barged into the library at the Jamia Millia Islamia campus, in the midst of a protest against the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and lathi-charged students.
The protests against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) first began on 13 December 2019, soon after the Act was passed in Parliament. A students’ march was held from Jamia Millia Islamia to Parliament Street on 15 December, while the Jamia Teachers’ Association too staged a protest on campus.
But soon, things took a violent turn as stones were pelted and tear gas shells fired by the police. Fifty students were detained; many even accused the police of using extreme force against them.
It was the beginning of a months-long movement against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens, which was only curtailed when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. But even a year down the line, the memory of the 15 December lathi-charge has not faded — especially for someone like Mohammed Minhajuddin, who lost an eye that day.
Minhaj, then a law student, was finishing a paper on the second floor of the old library at Jamia when he heard noises of people being beaten up and glass shattering. He left his books and began looking for places to hide, but Delhi Police personnel entered and hit students who weren’t even protesting, he alleged.
Minhaj even said the students’ protest against the CAA “did not have the desired impact”. But his more pressing question is about how he became a victim without committing any offence.
“CAA-NRC is a debate for later. How is it justified to injure students like this? The government tries to suppress anyone who speaks against it,” he said.
Also read: ‘Shocking violence’ — Harvard, Yale students & academics condemn police action in Jamia, AMU
‘Brutality’
Minhajuddin is not the only one to protest the Delhi Police’s “brutality”.
Akhtarista Ansari, a Jamia alumna whose video dated 15 December protecting her friend from the Delhi Police had gone viral, said: “We were not expecting this at all. It was horrific. We have seen so many protests but this kind of brutality was unlike ever before. It wasn’t like they were just trying to disperse us, they were really beating up the students.”
Ladeeda Farzana, also featured in the video, added: “When they (police) attacked the students, they were calling us Pakistanis and terrorists. It was an attack on our identity and a turning point for the Muslim community.”
Farzana, a second-year student of Jamia, is now four months pregnant and continuing her education online.
Even Jamia proctor Waseem Ahmad Khan accused the police of indiscriminately beating up the students.
“There was a conference going on, a selection committee had sat down in the V-C office, semester exams were going on… The atmosphere was very peaceful,” Khan told ThePrint.
“However, soon after, tear gas shells were released, forcing everyone to disperse. I even called the Jamia Nagar SHO and told them the police had entered the campus without permission. So many students were beaten up; they didn’t see if they were hitting a girl or a boy,” he recalled.
“Till today, the Crime Branch keeps calling our students to give statements, but the police have still not registered our FIR against (their personnel),” he said.
Status of the cases and action taken
On 17 December 2019, Delhi Police made 10 arrests for the Jamia violence, and the individuals’ custody was handed over to the Delhi Crime Branch, which works separately from the local force.
Of the 22 arrests made till now, two are students while others are locals, according to Crime Branch DCP Monika Bhardwaj.
As of now, the Crime Branch is probing four cases related to the violence at Jamia last winter. “There are three rioting cases, in which 22 arrests have been made, and one under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, against JNU student Sharjeel Imam,” Bhardwaj told ThePrint.
“Charge sheet has been filed in all cases, while a supplementary charge sheet is being filed now. The investigation will be concluded very shortly for all cases,” she added.
However, despite the many questions raised about the police’s actions on 15 December, no concrete action has yet been taken.
Lawyer Nabila Hasan approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking action against the police, armed with over 100 testimonies which she believes were “ignored”.
The NHRC’s own probe report into the incident, released seven months later, devoted most of its attention to why “the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) act by Jamia students on 15 December 2019 was an ‘unlawful assembly’ and had invited police action against itself”. However, it did say that beating up the students was “avoidable”.
Citing the same report, the Delhi High Court in September asked the Delhi Police about how it is punishing those officers who erred.
“There are multiple writs in the Delhi High Court pertaining to this. All were clubbed together and are being heard by the HC. The next date in court is 21 December 2020, so the matter remains sub judice,” DCP Bhardwaj said.
A Hindustan Times report noted that the “Crime Branch inquiry committee did not find any officer guilty, prima facie (at first sight), and has not recommended action against its personnel”.
Also read: Jamia violence was a well-planned incident carried out by ‘riotous mob’: Delhi Police to HC
Alleged involvement of ABVP
Jamia students have also claimed the participation of RSS’ youth wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the violence that took place last year. However, the ABVP remains steadfast in its denial.
“The violent nature of the protests shows that Maoist forces are inciting students across the country’s universities to spread violence. ABVP opposes this,” it had said in a statement.
Subham Rai, ABVP member and PhD student at Jamia, told ThePrint: “No ABVP member was involved in any violence at Jamia last December. Locals from adjacent neighbourhoods were responsible for the violence.”
Rai’s recollection of events from last year was different to his peers’ — he said students had proceeded to break barricades even though they didn’t have the permission to march to Parliament Street.
“Religious slogans were raised, after which the situation became out of control. When a mob is formed it doesn’t listen to anyone and that is exactly what happened. This lasted 90 minutes but we (ABVP members) had moved back, after which the police began lathi-charging. Some students were pretending to be activists but now they have been exposed,” he said.
Rai also said the police had entered the campus “only to ensure the locals were taken out”.
‘Will restart protest when the country is ready’
The protest and violence at Jamia eventually gave rise to the Shaheen Bagh sit-in protest that lasted till the country went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Farzana believes the anti-CAA stir will remain in people’s memory despite its abrupt end due to the coronavirus.
“The government’s main concern has been to arrest all the popular faces of the protest and everyone knows that. I have no doubt that the protest will restart when the country is ready. Till then, we have been trying to spread awareness through online talks and articles,” she added.
But for some such as Minhajuddin, the memories of 2019 are unlikely to fade soon. Minhaj who graduated from Jamia this year and is now an independent lawyer in Bihar’s Samastipur, said: “Crossing the road is difficult, walking in the dark is a problem, in the court — where it is crowded — I sometimes run into people. I cannot look at a screen for too long. But I still have a lot of energy and fight left in me.”
Also read: Delhi Police to probe Sharjeel Imam role in ‘instigating’ violence at Jamia Nagar, JNU