JNU: Day after clash, 2 FIRs registered, varsity says violence won't be tolerated

New Delhi: A day after over 15 students were injured inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University during an ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) protest against meat items on the Kaveri hostel menu that quickly turned violent, the Delhi Police have registered two FIRs — one on the basis of a complaint from the JNU Students' Union against "unknown" ABVP members and the other against "Left students" on a complaint from the ABVP.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest), Manoj C said that both FIRs have been registered under identical sections of the IPC, which include Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

Violence erupted inside the JNU campus on Sunday (the day of Ram Navami) when ABVP members who were holding a 'pooja' started agitating against non-vegetarian food items on the Sunday menu of the Kaveri hostel mess. Members of the JNUSU said that the protesters first manhandled the mess committee and then turned violent, resorting to stone-pelting and hitting students with sticks and bricks.

At least 15 students were injured, as confirmed by the Students' Union and the police.

However, the ABVP has alleged that "Left students" interrupted their Ram Navami 'pooja' and had indulged in violence, thereby injuring students. Based on allegations of both parties, the Delhi Police have registered the two FIRs and have also increased security on the campus now.

Meanwhile, the varsity administration on Monday said violence of any kind will not be tolerated on campus, with the Registrar adding that there was no bar on serving or eating meat inside the university. The varsity also clarified that the mess menu is decided by the student body and that they are in no way involved in deciding this.

Significantly, a statement from the varsity endorsed the ABVP's version of events, without acknowledging the version put forth by JNUSU or any of the students who were seriously injured. Moreover, the statement from the Registrar added that the hostel warden had immediately stepped in to pacify the argument between students over the mess menu and had also repeatedly clarified that there was no bar on serving non-vegetarian food items.

Later on Sunday night, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, also visited the injured students in the Kaveri hostel and took stock of the situation, the Registrar said.

Reacting to the violence at the campus, the JNU Teachers' Association also issued a statement condemning the incident over food preferences of students, saying it will ascertain the full sequence of events and the factual details and report back to the campus community.

"JNUTA expresses its outrage at any effort to impose the food preferences of any group over others. The use of violence as a means of punishing difference has no place within a university community," read their statement.

The safety of students and the staff who work for the university has to be fully ensured, it said, asking for the V-C and the security team to personally intervene and end the violence immediately to "reaffirm the principles of pluralism and celebration of difference that this university stands for".