OP Sharma, lawyers heckle JNU students, teachers & newsmen

Moments after a group of lawyers roughed up JNU students, teachers and some journalists, BJP legislator from Vishwas Nagar, Om Prakash Sharma and his supporters started beating several students. After the assault, Sharma said: “Jo Zindabad Pakistan ka naara lagayega usko marenge” (We would beat up anyone who raises pro-Pakistan slogans). 

Initially, the clashes erupted in the court premises when the JNU president Kanhaiya Kumar was taken to be produced before a magistrate here.

However, the court ruled that Kumar will stay in custody for two more days. He was arrested on Friday by the Delhi Police from the campus for allegedly participating in an event in support of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.

The scuffle turned violent when a group of about 100 lawyers present inside the court started shouting anti-JNU slogans demanding that university faculty present inside the court to leave.

The faculty, however, refused to vacate the court. The lawyers then forcibly tried to evict the faculty present inside. Also, the group of lawyers demanded that mediapersons should leave the court premises.

“A large group of lawyers started manhandling people while shouting slogans like long live India and down with JNU and the policemen did nothing to stop the unruly group,” a JNU student who was attacked said.

“You (JNU) produce anti-nationals and terrorists. You should get out of the country. Long live India, shut down JNU,” they shouted and then pushed the students and teachers out,” a professor of the Delhi University who was attacked by the advocates said.

The group of advocates also began to check the identity cards of mediapersons and asked them to leave the court room. The journalists objected to their demand and refused to move out of the court when they were attacked by them, who accused the mediapersons of being JNU supporters and accused them of wrong reporting.

A journalist, Anil Shai, who was also caught in the brawl, said: “The lawyers came when everyone was sitting peacefully, they started asking are you from JNU? They clutched people presuming them from JNU and started beating them up.”

The whole drama took place even when the Information & Broadcast Minister and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was inside the court.