Two days after the mob attack in JNU, no arrests have been made by the Delhi police which received more flak on Tuesday from opposition parties and student groups as it came to light that twin FIRs were filed on the night of the campus violence based on the varsity's previous vandalism complaints naming injured students union president Aishe Ghosh and others.
Breaking his silence, Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar, who is facing demands of resignation from the Left-controlled students union, said the incident was unfortunate and appealed to the students to put the past behind, but only broached superficially the allegations of delayed action by authorities during the January 5 rampage by masked attackers.
"If there is a law and order situation we do not rush to police immediately. We see if our security can handle. On Sunday, when we saw that there is a possibility of aggressive behaviour among students, we informed the police," he told reporters.
Protests continued against the attack at the JNU, with the students union alleging that the FIRs showed the varsity administration was colluding with the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Left-affiliated student groups and ABVP have blamed each other for the violence.
In an alumni meeting at the university, former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and activist Kavita Krishnan slammed the Centre over the violence, alleging the government was trying to destory the Constitution. In the evening, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone also visited the varsity to express solidarity with the students, but left without addressing the gathering.
A march by students and faculty was organised at the varsity during which slogans were raised against the ABVP, the Vice Chancellor and the Centre.
The Opposition too questioned the filing of FIRs and slammed the police, with Congress saying saying "40 hours since the violent attacks in JNU and the Delhi Police has failed to arrest a single perpetrator, despite the glaring evidence."
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