JNU students lathi-charged by cops during march to Rashtrapati Bhavan

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students alleged on Monday that they were lathi-charged near the Bhikaji Cama Place metro station during a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan against the hostel fee hike, a charge denied by the police.

A heavy deployment of police and barricades were put in place near the Bhikaji Cama Place metro station in south Delhi to stop the students from marching towards the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Condemning the lathicharge, JNU student Albert Bansala said this was the second time they had been attacked by the police.

"This is ridiculous. They had attacked us last time also near Jor Bagh. Today also, the police attacked and we have seen four to five broken sticks on road," said Bansala.

Neha, an AISA member from Amdebkar University, alleged that she was punched by policemen.

"Male police officers attacked us with sticks and punched us, while women officers were pushing us. It's a planned attack as we were attacked last time as well...," she said.

When the students reached the cordoned-off area, they tried to jump over the barricades.

There was an understanding between students and police that the protesters will march towards Sarojini Bus depot. However, when the students reached Bhikaji Cama, they ran towards the road leading to AIIMS, police said.

Instead of going towards the Sarojini Bus depot, they ran towards AIIMS and were pushed back when they reached Ring Road leading to heavy traffic congestion in the area, they said.

One carriageway from Dhaula Kuan towards South Extension was not operational due to the protest.

"There was no lathicharge on students by police. Staff from five other districts were also deployed to manage the situation. Nine companies of outside force were also called in. Out of the nine companies, five companies of women personnel were deployed to handle the women protesters in case of any untoward situation," a senior police officer said.

One of the students, Afreen, alleged that police took away his phone.

"I am a research scholar in JNU. I have my research papers stored in the device. The police have snatched it and now, they are not returning it," he said.

According to a statement from AISA, 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 lathicharged.

"Women students were dragged and beaten. JNUSU General Secretary Satish Chandra Yadav was also dragged and beaten up by policemen," it stated.

Last time, the police gave mediapersons badges to cover the protest. However, this time, nothing was offered to them and they were also mistakenly attacked during the march.