New Delhi: Violence erupted in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the early hours of Monday as Left-affiliated student groups clashed with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). 

Clashes break out at Jawaharlal Nehru University amid protests against Vice-Chancellor

The confrontation reportedly followed protests by Left groups over alleged casteist remarks made by the university’s Vice-Chancellor. While the Left groups have accused ABVP members of attacking protesters, the latter have made countercharges of harassment, further escalating tensions on campus.

JNU violence: students narrate night of chaos, smoke, and lockdowns

An ABVP student, Prateek Bhardwaj, described his experience during the attack. “I don’t know which floor I was on. To save myself, I ran around, but only one restroom was open. I went inside that restroom and locked myself in from the inside. After about half an hour, a group of at least 150 people arrived. They saw that the door was locked and tried to break it. They made a hole in the door and filled the restroom with smoke and powder from a fire extinguisher. I even have photos I took at that time,” he told IANS.

Speaking about the background of the incident, Bhardwaj added, “The Vice-Chancellor uses a CPO manual to define rules and disciplines in the university. Under this, when the Left-wing students were restricted, which was also captured on video, five people in total were restricted. After this restriction, they turned the matter into a purely political issue.”

Following the incident, students reported no major injuries. Two students visited a government hospital for medical leave certificates (MLC), and no formal complaints have been filed so far, according to Delhi Police.

Another ABVP student, Vaibhav Meena, said, “It was a march by the Left. After the march, they carried out what appeared to be a pre-planned move that had not been made public. A crowd of around 400 people, many with their faces covered and wearing masks, carrying sticks and rods, entered the school area. Upon reaching there, they began locking the school buildings.”

ABVP Secretary at JNU, Pravin Kumar Piyush, added, “Late at night, a Left-wing organisation called for a march from Sabarmati T-Point to the JNU Vice-Chancellor’s residence. After the march, around 400–500 masked individuals entered the school area carrying hockey sticks, rods, batons, knives, and stones. They then forced their way into the school, where common students were studying in the reading rooms, and allegedly pushed them out forcibly.”

Authorities have initiated preliminary checks, and further investigations are ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances of the violence and identify those involved.

(IANS)