Students were victims of atrocious acts of violence as masked assailants rampaged across the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday. But what also came up in various narratives is that the Delhi Police and the security were not just mute spectators but also beat up students in some instances.
Chaitali (name changed), a student of the university, was on the lawns of the Sabarmati Hostel when she saw policemen chasing off students into the hostels. "I was just capturing these when almost the entire force barged towards me and within moments I had 15 lady police officers around me. 'Do teen lagao isko, photo aur video kyun kheech rahe the?' (We should beat this one up, why did you take photos and shoot videos?) They asked and wanted to confiscate my phone. I tried to reason with them and told them that I have not done something that they can confiscate my phone for," said Chaitali. "A male police officer then approached me and made me open my gallery and delete the photos and videos. Then they broke the phone," she added.
Other female students have also complained of molestation and aggravated assault by the mob not just on Sunday but during the clashes between the protesting students and ABVP activists. JNUS General Secretary, Satish Chandra Yadav said that he had suffered injuries to his head while trying to protect some female students from the mob on Saturday. "Manish Jangid and Durgesh Kumar of ABVP went on a rampage and were hitting women without any discrimination — they broke their hands in the process and molested them," he said. "They then attacked me. I will file an FIR," he added.
