NEW DELHI: Massive protests paralysed one of India’s top universities Monday over the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar on charges of sedition.
Meanwhile, a group of men dressed as lawyers on Monday attacked the students of Jawharlal Nehru University (JNU) and journalists at the Patiala House Courts complex, accusing them of siding allegedly with ‘anti-national’ forces, according to India media reports.
The students had come to express solidarity with Kanhaiya Kumar, who was expected to be produced before the court in connection with the sedition case.
The incident took place despite heavy police deployment in the area. Alok Singh, an Indian Express correspondent was among those who were attacked. Their identity has not been established but according to Mr. Singh, the group had indiscriminately attacking whosoever they spotted and suspected to be Kumar’s supporter.
Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested Friday, days after a demonstration was held at Jawaharlal Nehru University to mark the anniversary of the 2013 execution of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri man convicted of an attack on India’s Parliament.
Kumar, a left-leaning student leader, was arrested amid allegations that anti-India slogans were raised at that protest.
On Monday, several student groups called for a strike on campus and very few students attended classes. Over the weekend thousands of students and teachers from several universities and colleges across India held protest rallies at the university.
The arrest came after a student faction linked to the ruling rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party filed a police complaint against the campus event.
