As students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) marched towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan against the hostel fee hike on Monday, 9 December, visuals surfaced purportedly showing Satish Chandra Yadav, the general secretary of the varsity’s students’ union, being dragged and kicked by police personnel.
Many other students were lathi-charged by the police and some allegedly detained briefly.
The students’ march, second in a month, led to traffic congestion in south Delhi and left scores of Metro commuters stranded for hours with three central Delhi stations being closed as a precautionary measure.
Amid heavy police deployment and barricades beginning right outside the campus, the students began their march at around 2 pm but were stopped near the Bhikaji Cama Place metro station.
When the students reached a cordoned area, they tried to jump the barricades and were lathi-charged by the police, reported PTI.
JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh had said, "Several students, including women, have been detained by police which brutally attacked the protesters, asking us to go back to campus." She said the students will not budge until their demand for a complete rollback of the hostel fee hike is met.
‘Women Students Dragged, Beaten’: AISA
In a statement, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) said, “When the students were peacefully marching towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan... to raise their concerns about the fee hike and the complete apathy on part of the vice chancellor, they were surrounded by the police and forces and lathi-charged.”
AISA added, “Women students were dragged and beaten. After isolating around five female students and detaining them in a bus, some 10 police manhandled and kicked and beat them brutally.”
The students have been protesting for over a month against the hostel fee hike and have also called for boycott of upcoming semester exams, despite warnings from the administration.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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