HRD ministry meets JNU officials, V-C stays away

The Human Resource Development Ministry met officials from the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration on Monday and took stock of the situation on the campus following Sunday's violence, even as Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar skipped the meeting.

Meanwhile, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank,' who was in Bhubhaneshwar, on Monday said educational institutions cannot be allowed to become 'political adda' and vowed 'strong action' against the perpetrators of the violence at JNU.

The meeting at the HRD Ministry which went on for over two hours was attended by the JNU registrar, proctor and other admin officials who briefed the ministry officials on the sequence of events that unfolded on the campus and the measures taken to restore normalcy.

"HRD Secretary Amit Khare held a meeting with a team of JNU authorities, including Pro-VC Chintamani Mahapatra, Registrar Promod Kumar, Rector Rana Pratap Singh and Proctor Dhananjay Singh, today. The secretary held a detailed discussion with them and was also briefed about the current situation in JNU," a senior HRD Ministry official said.

The ministry had on Sunday sought an immediate report from JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar after the violence broke out and students and teachers were attacked.

There was heavy deployment of police on Monday outside the Shashtri Bhawan in New Delhi which houses the HRD ministry.

"A detailed report has been sent to the HRD ministry about the sequence of events. The top administration officials are at the ministry to provide all details leading to present situation," JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar told PTI.

Violence broke out at the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night as a group of masked people armed with sticks attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in the police.

Many sustained injuries and were admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre in New Delhi. They were discharged on Monday.

JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh suffered a head injury.

The Left-controlled JNUSU and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad blamed each other for the violence that continued for nearly two hours.

The Union HRD minister had urged JNU students to maintain the dignity of the university and peace on campus.

"I have said this earlier also that these autonomous institutions cannot be allowed to become political 'adda' (dens). Strong action will be initiated against people involved in such an attack," he told reporters in Bhubhaneshwar on Monday.

JNU proctor Dhananjay Singh appealed the students to not panic and leave the campus.

"We appeal to students to not panic and leave the campus. Measures are being taken to normalise situation on the campus and ensure safety of everyone," he said after the meeting at the HRD ministry.

DCW issues notice to Delhi Police

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Monday issued summons to the Delhi Police and the JNU registrar in connection with the violence.

In the notice to police, Maliwal has sought details of the first information report registered in the case and reasons for not responding to violence immediately.

She also sought the details of all PCR calls made regarding the JNU violence from 2 pm on January 5 till 7 am on January 6 and an action-taken report on each call.

The DCW has also sought a detailed factual report of the entire incident along with the sequence of events, a copy of CCTV footage and reasons for not preventing a mob from entering the campus.

'The panel wants to know the reasons for not responding to the reports of the violence immediately and reasons for allowing the mob to leave the campus with impunity despite heavy police presence,' it said.

The commission also questioned them about the reasons for disallowing ambulances and media personnel from entering the campus, details of people arrested in the matter and the steps taken to identify and arrest the other accused persons.

It has also questioned about the action taken/proposed to be taken against erring police officers and sought a list of such officers.

She has summoned the police to be present in the DCW office on January 8.

The panel has also summoned the university's registrar on January 8 with the records of copies of all complaints received in the matter, action taken/proposed to be taken against erring administration officers, reasons for shutting down streetlight and copy of the entire CCTV footage of all the cameras in the campus from 4 pm on January 5 till 7 am on January 6.

Edited by Utkarsh Mishra