Masked goons, armed with sticks and stones, barged into Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University campus this evening and beat up students and teachers, spreading chaos and terror. Around 30 students, all from Left-backed groups, and 12 teachers were injured. The Left students and the ABVP, the student wing linked to the BJP, have accused each other of involvement in the attack. Late in the evening, the JNU authorities called in the police, who held a flag march and declared the situation normal. But students and staff insisted that the miscreants are still lurking in the campus and that they were not safe.
They also accused the university authorities and the police of complicity. Sources said Home Minister Amit Shah has asked Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik for a report. Hundreds, meanwhile, gathered outside the city's police headquarters to protest against the violence.
Eyewitnesses said the 50-odd goons entered the campus around 6.30 pm. The students' union tweeted that the attackers were "unknown ABVP goons" and were even beating up professors trying to protect students. JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon said, "The police have been in the campus since afternoon, but they have done nothing". Others pointed to the delay in calling in the police and their failure to make any arrest.
Condemning the violence, the University said today's incident was linked to the agitation over a fee hike. Students opposing the hike wanted to disrupt the admissions process and there have been clashes and vandalism on Friday and Saturday. Today, students against registration process beat up those in favour of it before the police could reach, the registrar said in a statement.
The Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited AIIMS where the injured students -- all from Left-backed groups -- were taken. Aishe Ghosh, the JNUSU president who was bleeding heavily when she was taken to hospital, was "singled out and hit on her head by men who entered the university campus with the blessing of the guards, the administration and the police," a tweet from JNUSU read.
The ABVP said their members were "brutally attacked by students affiliated to leftist student organizations SFI, AISA and DSF". "Around 25 students have been seriously injured in this attack and there is no information as to the whereabouts of 11 students. Many ABVP members are being attacked in hostels and the hostels are being vandalized by the leftist goons," the ABVP tweet read.
They also accused the university authorities and the police of complicity. Sources said Home Minister Amit Shah has asked Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik for a report. Hundreds, meanwhile, gathered outside the city's police headquarters to protest against the violence.
Eyewitnesses said the 50-odd goons entered the campus around 6.30 pm. The students' union tweeted that the attackers were "unknown ABVP goons" and were even beating up professors trying to protect students. JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon said, "The police have been in the campus since afternoon, but they have done nothing". Others pointed to the delay in calling in the police and their failure to make any arrest.
Condemning the violence, the University said today's incident was linked to the agitation over a fee hike. Students opposing the hike wanted to disrupt the admissions process and there have been clashes and vandalism on Friday and Saturday. Today, students against registration process beat up those in favour of it before the police could reach, the registrar said in a statement.
The Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited AIIMS where the injured students -- all from Left-backed groups -- were taken. Aishe Ghosh, the JNUSU president who was bleeding heavily when she was taken to hospital, was "singled out and hit on her head by men who entered the university campus with the blessing of the guards, the administration and the police," a tweet from JNUSU read.
The ABVP said their members were "brutally attacked by students affiliated to leftist student organizations SFI, AISA and DSF". "Around 25 students have been seriously injured in this attack and there is no information as to the whereabouts of 11 students. Many ABVP members are being attacked in hostels and the hostels are being vandalized by the leftist goons," the ABVP tweet read.
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