The vice-chancellor of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University has said she is deeply hurt by the way students were treated by the police and backed them after many of them were detained following a protest march against the citizenship law turned violent on Sunday.
“I am deeply hurt by the barbaric way my students were treated. It is absolutely unacceptable the way police entered the university and caned the students, who were studying in the library,” vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar said in a video released by the university.
“I want to let my students know that they are not alone in this difficult fight. I and the entire community of Jamia are with them. I will take this matter forward as long it’s possible. You are never alone, don’t get disheartened and don’t believe in any rumour,” Akhtar said.
“We are all in this together and will remain so. You are not alone,” she said.
The demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise took a violent turn on Sunday after protesters attempted to march towards arterial south Delhi roads and were stopped by the police.
The police said they had to resort to lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells after protesters started pelting stones and smashing cars and vehicles. The protesters also set fire to at least four buses of Delhi Transport Corporation, they said.
Personnel of Delhi Police allegedly marched inside the Jamia Millia Islamia University campus and brought about 150 students out of the premises after the violence.
At least 50 Jamia Millia Islamia students were detained after a clash with the police and were released early on Monday.
Many students, however, said the detained students were not part of the protest and were inside the university’s library.
Protests erupted on campuses across the country against the police crackdown on students of Jamia Millia Islamia University on Sunday.
Students clashed with police in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Sunday night as security personnel fired tear gas shells outside the campus after protesters pelted stones at them.
Students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) in Hyderabad, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi and Kolkata’s Jadavpur University also held demonstrations in solidarity with the Jamia students.