On January 5 2020, masked assailants rampaged across Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi and thrashed students. Videos emerged of the President of JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) Aishe Ghosh who was brutally injured among other students as well. Three years later, students who witnessed the attack told EdexLive that no chargesheet has been filed regarding the incident so far.
"We remember each and every glimpse of it. It happened right before our eyes. I was also one of the students who was hurt. But I was too scared to go to the hospital. So I went home and then got treatment. I didn't come to JNU for this, we all thought it was a place for free speech," said Mrinal, a former student of JNU. He claimed that along with police officials, the administration too turned a blind eye towards the incident.
“Police have been on campus in civil dress since December 27... chief proctor Dhananjay Singh is in the WhatsApp group called ‘Friends of RSS’... Around 5.15 pm on January 5, some students assembled near the house of Tapan Bihari (faculty) who himself took a lathi in hand,” Aishe Ghosh had earlier told The New Indian Express.
“The mob only thrashed students who were not from ABVP, they left the rooms which had ABVP posters on it. They specifically targeted northeastern and Kashmiri students...The police and administration are not saying even a single word against ABVP,” she stressed, as per the TNIE report. Three years later, students claimed that the aforementioned attitude still persists on campus.
Increase in violence but no action?
Students also told EdexLive that since the incident, the campus has witnessed repeated attacks by "goons" on students. In April 2022, two student groups clashed at the university's Kaveri Hostel allegedly over serving non-vegetarian food in its mess on a festive day, with police saying 20 students were injured, as per a TNIE report. JNUSU, which is led by Left-affiliated outfits, alleged that ABVP members attacked students while opposing the serving of non-vegetarian food in the mess while JNU authorities claimed the violence occurred after some students objected to a 'hawan', an assertion also made by RSS-affiliated ABVP, as per the report.
In fact, Madhurima Kundu, Secretary of JNU All India Students' Association (AISA) stated that recently, goons went around the hostels of the university and indulged in violence. "We complained but no action was taken by the security on campus," she said. She also alleged that there has also been a rise in attempts to rape but the CYCLOPS (Cyclops Security and Allied Services, which is in charge of the security in the varsity) has been inefficient in dealing with these incidents.
Students also alleged that apart from this, the university has seen multiple instances of violence that have gone unreported.
No arrests yet
In 2021, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the Delhi Police had reported that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Branch has been constituted to investigate three cases registered at Vasant Kunj (North) police station with regard to the violence on the JNU campus in January 2020. However, the Delhi Police reported then that no arrest had been made in the cases.
"We all know who did everything. There are videos out in the public but the attackers are freely roaming. But no action has been taken yet," said Madhurima.
Students took to Twitter and posted, ‘Never forget never forgive’, to remember the incident.
