JNU protest row: JNUSU President alleges VC sent "goons"; ABVP claim pre-planned attack by left

New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI): An alleged clash that erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-affiliated student groups resulted in several students being injured and has led to conflicting accounts from both sides.
ABVP State Joint Secretary Vikas Patel spoke to ANI about the alleged clash, claiming that the left-wing pre-planned the attack in the guise of a student march.
"There was a JNU march that night. The march was against the vice chancellor, and they had planned to surround him, but they diverted the entire march towards the School of Languages, where their protest had been going on for the past seven days... From there, they planned to deal with the students who were not attending their protest. So, they closed their classes and library and locked the reading room so they could force them to attend their march," he alleged.
"After the protest, these people, who are their cadres, assaulted some of the students there. On behalf of those students, we went there to talk to them... They became violent and started attacking us... It happened so suddenly that we did not even realise it... I called the police, and after the police arrived, with the help of the guards, we managed to rescue the workers", he added.
He further accused the guards of not interfering effectively. "They are incapable of preventing such incidents... The JNU guards don't do any work at all, and the police force was not adequate... We wanted the police to come in as large a number as possible, form a human chain, and rescue us from there," he said.
JNUSU President Aditi Mishra also claimed that the "goons and sanghis" were sent by the Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit as the students were protesting her recent remarks aginst Dalit and Black community.
"We have been on strike from last two weeks. VC gave a podcast and gave distasteful comments against Dalits and Blacks. We held protests against these remarks yesterday." she said.
"We held peaceful strikes. This VC sends her sanghis, goons...They pelted stones, and abused us," she alleged, adding that they called the police and lock themselves in the bathrooms to keep safe.
A student, Manish Chaudhary, who claimed to have been involved in the clash, alleged that the left made a call regarding a protest march from Sabarmati to the VC house, but things turned chaotic at the end.
"People who came from outside or the comrades of JNU, goons come from the academic space or the school area and try to close or lock the schools," he claimed.
He added that after complaints, the Student Union arrived at the scene, but they started beating the union workers.
He further alleged that when other students arrive, the attackers have sticks, stones and wood. "All these things are there from the beginning, and you will see that all these people have the same mask. It can only be the result of a pre-planned strategy that 400 people have the same mask, which is not a coincidence," he said.
"I ran from there, they beat me up for at least 500-600 meters for 15-20 minutes. There were 60-70 people who beat me up." he claimed.
Regarding allegations that ABVP initiated the clash, he claimed that the Left faction not only mapped out the march route in a poster but also intentionally diverted into the school grounds, suggesting a premeditated plan.
"You can see their poster that goes from T Point to VC Gate. The demonstration that was supposed to end there doesn't end there, but they come to the school area. Their pre-plan is to go there and declare themselves as a victim or gain the sympathy of the people," he said.
The Students' Federation of India (SFI) Delhi State Committee on Monday also strongly condemned the alleged premeditated and brutal violence unleashed on students at Jawaharlal Nehru University following the Equality March called by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU).
ABVP activists, along with mobilised outsiders, launched a systematic assault on students across the campus. Bricks and stones were hurled, students were brutally beaten, and groups armed with rods roamed freely, breaking locks and spreading terror. The campus was turned into a zone of intimidation and organised hooliganism. Students were forced to take shelter inside the Central Library and other buildings, spending the entire night in fear and uncertainty as violence continued outside, the SFI alleged in a release.
Speaking on the recent attacks, Aishe Ghosh, former JNUSU President and SFI Delhi State Secretary claimed, "What happened last night is part of a long and shameful pattern of violence encouraged to crush student movements in JNU. We have seen this before on January 5, 2020, when I and many others were brutally attacked by masked mobs. Today again, ABVP has chosen violence over debate. Let it be clear: students of JNU will not be silenced by fear, nor will democratic resistance be crushed by rods and stones. The struggle against casteism, authoritarianism, and repression will continue with greater strength."
SFI Delhi State Committee stands in unwavering solidarity with the students of JNU. Universities must remain spaces of dialogue, critical thought, and democratic assertion and not grounds for orchestrated violence, the release said.
A clash erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) between left-wing groups and ABVP workers in the early hours of February 23, resulting in injuries to several students.The incident has sparked outrage, with demands for immediate arrests and strict action against those involved.The violence reportedly began after nearly a week of strikes led by left-wing organisations. (ANI)