Who will be responsible if my son dies in custody: Kanhaiya’s mother

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar’s mother Meena Devi on Thursday slammed the attack on her son in the Patiala House Court premises and questioned who will be responsible if he dies in custody.

“I am not a terrorist’s mother. I know it will be proved some day, but until then if my son dies in custody, who will be responsible for it? They can call Kanhaiya a threat to nation but cannot protect him from other threats?,” his mother Meena Devi said from her house in Begusarai.

“What if he had died that day and it was proved later that he was innocent? Will the government give me my son back then? They acted so fast on a complaint against my son, but they haven’t arrested anyone for the attack on Kanhaiya in court,” she added.

Meena is an Anganwadi worker who earns Rs 3,500 per month, while her 65-year-old husband who was a farmer has been bedridden for seven years due to paralysis.

His father Jaishankar Singh has refused to accept security at his home and alleged that his son was “punished” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for defeating their candidate in the students’ union elections.

“We politely urged the policemen to go back as we do not require security. The entire village is with us,” he said. “Instead of us, please provide security to my son who was mercilessly beaten up by lawyers during production in the Patiala House court,” said Jaishankar.

A day after Kanhaiya was assaulted by lawyers in the court complex, the police on Thursday deployed security at his home. The JNUSU president’s mother Meena Devi is an Aganwadi worker, earning Rs 4,000 a month and running the household. Jaishankar alleged that his son was “punished” by BJP and RSS for defeating their candidate in the JNU student’s union polls.