Police have evidence against Kanhaiya Kumar: Bassi

Delhi Police Commissioner on Monday claimed that they have clear evidence that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar was chanting anti-national slogans during last week’s protest in the varsity. However, so far no evidence has been found which can link the incident to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). “As and when it comes, it will shared with the Home Ministry,” Bassi said.

“Kanhaiya was present at the event where he delivered a speech and participated in an unlawful assembly which indulged in anti-India sloganeering. It was because of his involvement, and the evidence we have collected so far that he has been arrested under charge of sedition,” Bassi said after meeting Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.

He further added that the evidences collected so far suggest that the ABVP was opposing the programme. “But if it is found out that they were also raising anti-national slogans, action will be taken against them also,” he said.

Bassi further said the Tweet by Hafiz Saeed was blasphemous and tried to incite the youth against the lawfully established government of India. “Tweet was highly blasphemous and it tried to incite Indians, youth against lawfully established Govt of India. We are looking into the content of various tweets which are blasphemous and objectionable,” he said.

“Don’t go into whether the Tweet is authentic or not. Go to the contents of the Tweet. The content of the Tweet was blasphemous, which could incite violence and that is the only reason why we issued an alert. It is inflammatory, it incites people against lawfully establish government in India. I am surprised that people are more concerned about the (authenticity of the) Tweet than its potential impact,” Bassi said when asked whether the purported Tweet of Saeed was genuine or fake.

“Whether Hafiz Saeed posted the Tweet himself, did it go through a proxy account or whether someone else did so by using his name, is a now a matter of investigation. A probe has been initiated into it,” Bassi said adding that the police are now monitoring several Tweets which were made by the particular handle and other handles apparently related to that.

When asked about alleged links between Kashmir militants and the JNU students who were suspected to be involved in the incident, Bassi said: “Kanhaiya’s interrogation will be analysed for terror links and the police are looking for some other students who all went absconding after the incident but will soon be arrested.”

Meanwhile, Delhi Police’s South district have formed a special team to track down 13 other JNU students who have been identified. The police claim that all of them were involved in raising anti-India slogans.