Police act to nail JNU violence culprits, four FIRs filed

As the Jawaharlal Nehru University limps backs to normalcy after Sunday's brutal violence, the Delhi Police on Monday started its probe and have registered four FIRs.

Police said that an FIR was registered on January 4 on the complaint of the JNU administration regarding obstruction in the registration process. The students had to register for next semester but this was allegedly blocked by a section of students protesting the hostel fee hike.

The second and third FIRs were also registered regarding scuffles and obstruction in registration process.

The fourth FIR was registered on Monday against unidentified and identified people for their alleged role in the campus violence on Sunday.

Police took suo motu cognisance of the violence and registered the FIR at Vasant Kunj North police station under which the campus comes.

As per the fourth FIR, a case has been registered under Sections 145 (unlawful assembly,) 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) 149 (unlawful assembly guilty of offence) and 151 (assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance) under the Indian Penal Code and under various sections of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

Inspector Anand Yadav, in the fourth FIR, stated: "The students had been protesting for last few days over fee hike and other issues inside the university premises and as per the the Delhi High Court direction of not allowing any student to carry out protest within the radius of 100 metres of the Administrative Block, police had been deployed permanently over there."

He stated that on Sunday, he, along with the other personnel, were present inside the campus near the administrative block.

The FIR states that at 3.34 p.m., they came to know that some students have indulged in clashes and are damaging public property outside the Periyar Hostel. "We rushed to the spot and found that 40 to 50 unidentified people, in which a few people covering faces with handkerchiefs and masks, and carrying sticks and rods, were beating up other students inside and outside the hostel," Yadav said in the FIR.

Yadav said he and his team rushed to the spot and asked them to maintain peace. "As soon we reached, these unidentified people fled from the spot," he said.

To control the situation, the university authorities gave the police written approval to enter the campus as well as hostel premises.

After getting the request letter, more police teams were called in to manage the violence within the varsity premises. "We requested the students to maintain peace and not to indulge in any violence," the police officer said.

In the meantime, the police control room started receiving distress calls from inside the campus from the students about being beaten up.

"At 7 p.m., we came to know that a group of 40 to 50 unidentified people have entered the Sabarmati Hostel and have started beating up students and damaging property," the FIR stated.

Police teams immediately reached the spot and found that around 40 to 40 students-cum-hooligans were damaging the property of the hostel.

"We made announcement to maintain peace and not to indulge into violence and immediately leave the premises. The hooligans, hearing the announcement, for a while continued damaging the properties but as we pressed in, they fled from the spot," Yadav said in the FIR.

The FIR stated that thereafter, injured students were identified and rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, and the Safdarjung Hospital.IANS