Students protest hostel committe meet, block ambulance from taking prof to hospital: JNU admin

New Delhi [India], Oct 28 (ANI): In high drama, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration on Monday alleged that a group of students waylaid an ambulance and prevented doctors from taking the Dean of Students to hospital after he fell ill on campus during a protest by students against a meeting, called to discuss among other things, a proposed hostel fee hike.

Students, however, have denied the allegation and said the administration did not invite students' representatives to the meeting, as against a High Court order which ruled that they should be involved in every matter related to students' welfare.

Dean of Students, Professor Umesh Kadam fell sick in the "raucous atmosphere" with "alarmingly high blood pressure" after protestors entered the venue of the Inter Hostel Administration (IRA) meeting being held in the Convention Centre of JNU, university administration said. 

"Some students who are not members of IRA committee disrupted the meeting by forcibly entering the venue. The committee members requested the agitating students to go out and let the meeting continue. But they became more aggressive and began sloganeering loudly, approached menacingly towards the Dean of Students," tweeted JNU Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar. 

The administration said the protestors blocked the way of an ambulance to take Professor Kadam to hospital and did not let the University doctors examine him.

Terming the students' behaviour as "shocking, heartlessness and insensitivity", the administration said it is "contemplating severe action against some JNU students whose conduct today has been not only unbecoming but dangerous and shameful".

"This kind of behaviour by a section of JNU students is highly condemnable and outrageous," it added.

Speaking to ANI, Professor Kadam said he was a patient of blood pressure and was not allowed to go to the hospital to get medical treatment after he fell ill. 

"Aishe Ghosh (JNUSU president), Saket Moon (JNUSU vice president), Mohammed Danish (JNUSU Joint Secretary) and one more are directly involved in the ruckus. These four and  Sarika Choudhary (ex-JNUSU vice-president), Aizaz Ahmad Rather (ex-JNUSU General Secretary) instigated all students," Professor Kadam said.

He was taken to JNU health centre. "The DoS is being confined now in a doctors office and the students have surrounded the Health Centre," the university registrar said.

JNU Students Union president Aishe Ghosh said the administration went against a High Court order which ruled that students should be involved in every matter related to students' welfare. 

"The administration did not invite students' representative in contempt of a High Court ruling. We were demanding that students' representatives -- JNUSU president and General Secretary -- be called at the meeting. Only three hostel presidents were present at the meet. Other were barred by security guards to enter the venue," she said.

The JNUSU president also said that some protestors misbehaved with them when they went to the meeting venue with their demands including not to implement the proposed rules including hotel fee hike, restriction on movement at night, and dress code for students living in hostels. (ANI)