JNU Protests Escalate After Delhi Court Violence
NEW DELHI: Protests over the arrest of a JNU student on sedition charges are set to intensify today with hundreds of teachers joining in. Journalists have sought an appointment with Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the attack on their colleagues yesterday outside a court where the arrested student, Kanhaiya Kumar was produced.
Here are 10 developments in the big story
Kanhaiya Kumar, 28, will remain in custody till Wednesday, a judge said. He was arrested last week on charges of sedition for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans at an event in support of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013.
Before Mr Kumar was brought to court, lawyers attacked students and faculty of the Jawaharlal Nehru University or JNU, telling them “You are not required here.”
Journalists who were beaten allege that policemen did nothing to stop the attackers. Several journalists will march to the Supreme Court today to mark their protest.
The police have filed two FIRs or complaints. Earlier, Delhi Police chief BS Bassi told NDTV that the assaults were “incidents of a minor nature”. The Bar Council of India has said a retired High Court judge will investigate the violence to identify and punish the lawyers involved.
BJP legislator OP Sharma was also seen beating a person believed to be Left student leader. He told news agency ANI that anyone who chants pro-Pakistan slogans “will be beaten…yes.”
Many students at JNU have refused to attend classes, a decision supported by most of the faculty at the prestigious university.
Kanhaiya Kumar has denied any wrongdoing. Opposition parties allege that he was arrested without any evidence. The Delhi Police chief says that’s incorrect.
The maximum sentence for sedition is life imprisonment. The Delhi High Court will today hear a case that asks for Mr Kumar’s case to be handled by the country’s top anti-terror agency, the National Investigating Agency or NIA.
Opposition parties have united in accusing the government of wrongly asking the police to search the JNU campus for Mr Kumar and his associates. They say that while they do not support anti-national acts, the JNU event should have been investigated by the university.
The government has so far shown no signs of softening. “I can assure you that every action we take is to protect our country. Any anti-India activity will not be tolerated,” BJP President Amit Shah said at the party headquarters.
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Source:Ndtv
