ABVP goons allegedly attack protesting students: Delhi University (DU)

ABVP

UPDATE:

Meanwhile, faculty and students told Sabrangindia that, on Friday, December 2, a protest has been organised by students against the hoolaginism of the ABVP at the Delhi University (DU). Section 144 has been imposed by the Delhi police prohibiting gatherings.

Update

Also, anti-Brahmin and Baniya casteist grafitti appeared on the walls of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). ABVP has alleged that AISA and the left are responsible for this, as they are “anti-national and anti-Hindu”. The Left has pointed out that it is the ABVP that is at the source of the violence (attacks on meetings, disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed after a ABVP attack, beating up students on the campus and in hostels) but to date –due to the impunity enjoyed by the outfit –no action has been taken even when they are identified on CCTV camera.

[[Najeeb Ahmed, a first year MSc Biotechnology student in the JNU went missing on October 15, 2016 after the alleged attacks on him by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the ruling party. This had sparked students’ movements across the country. His mother Fatima Nafees has been tirelessly following up his case. On multiple occasions she has faced extreme police brutality despite peacefully demanding for her son to be found.]]

All these developments have seriously vitiated the atmosphere on campus. JNUTA (JNU Teachers Association) has stated that there is no security on campus and that the JNU administration has failed completely. Both sides, meanwhile have demanded a speedy “free and fair enquiry” into these recent attacks.

ABVP goons attacked students campaigning on campus for a meeting demanding the release of Prof. G.N. Saibaba. Armed with rods and hurling bricks that injured several students who have been taken to Hindu Rao Hospital for treatment. ABVP students even surrounded the hospital where students were taken for treatment. Police reached after desperate calls and finally “removed” ABVP aggressors from the hospital. The SHO of Maurice Nagar police station was also present at the hospital but it is yet unclear whether an FIR has been filed and against whom in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

December 1: The incident took place during a protest organized by Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM). According to reports, students from the Campaign against State Repression (CASR) were campaigning on the DU campus when they were allegedly attacked with stones first, then with lathis (batons).

Teachers and professors associated with the All India Forum for the Right to Education (AIFRTE) shared photos of the students attacked with Sabrangindia

Delhi University students campaigning for the release of jailed former Delhi University professor Dr GN Saibaba were beaten up by members of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of Hindu militant group RSS on Thursday.https://t.co/CO2e20CJoB
— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) December 1, 2022

Ravinder Singh, a final-year law student and the incumbent president of Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch, told the media (ABP News and Quint ) that around 10 to 12 students were holding a campaign to spread awareness about GN Saibaba’s unjust incarceration. Out of the blue, 40–50 ABVP students attacked them with lathis. Many students were injured, he added. Protestor Rajveer said his friend was hit with a brick, while another was pinned down and beaten up.

According to media reports the injured students were immediately rushed to the Hindu Rao Hospital. The students who were seeking treatment at the hospital allege that 40 to 50 people also surrounded the hospital and threatened them.

Ehtmam, a law graduate from Jamia Millia Islamia who was a part of the campaign, claimed that ABVP said that if they step out of the hospital, they will attack them again. This threat was given in front of police officials, he added.

Ravinder said that while some of the alleged attackers had the Aam Aadmi Party’s flag tied to their knees, he was certain that they all were from the ABVP.

Background:

On January 5, 2020, at the height of the anti CAA 2019 protests in the capital a masked mob armed with sticks and bricks went on a rampage at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), beating up students and vandalising university property. Many of them were identified as directly associated with the ABVP; to date they have not been arrested.