‘Come, beat us in daylight’: Jamia protests again

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of students and alumni of Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi gathered on Monday, December 16, to protest against the alleged “police brutality” on campus the previous day.

Broken pieces of brick, glass and abandoned slippers were strewn about the campus – remnants of Sunday’s violence. According to students and the administration, dozens of policemen forced their way into the Jamia campus without permission, beat up students, shot tear gas shells indoors, leaving many injured and some hospitalized. According to students, around 50 of them were temporarily detained at the Kalkaji and New Friends Colony police stations.

The students were attempting to march to Parliament to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, passed the Narendra Modi government last week. They were joined by locals and one section – no one knows who – got violent. Buses were torched following which the police stormed into Jamia.

Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force were both deployed near the campus in large numbers on Monday, which also saw protests in support of Jamia in over two dozen college and university campuses .

CRPF and Delhi Police at Jamia (Credit: Atul Krishna)

Students join protests

“Come and beat us in daylight,” screamed a student in front of Jamia’s gate number-seven.

On Sunday night, police entered Jamia’s libraries, hostels and washrooms to beat them with batons, said students. Those who had taken shelter in the mosque located inside the campus were also dragged out and beaten up, they said.

Dozens of students who had not been a part of the protests against the CAA, joined in on Monday. Many of them had been injured by Delhi Police’s batons and tear gas shells while they were indoors, on campus.

The protest at Jamia (Credit: Atul Krishna)

For instance, when the police broke into the central library, mass communication student, Mudassir Nassar was studying for his exams inside it. “Yesterday, there was no protest inside the campus, it was all happening outside. I and many other students were studying for the exams when police broke in, threw tear gas and started hitting all the students. They switched off the lights and destroyed the cameras so as to not leave any evidence,” he told Careers360 .

“I was studying in the library when they suddenly dropped a tear gas through the window,” said Mojassam, another student who was caught in the violence at the library. “Someone shouted ‘run’ and I started running. The police started hitting everything, broke glasses and vandalised everything. I was lucky not to get hurt.”

Safid Iqbal, an electrical diploma student, was not so fortunate. “I was sitting in the library when the police threw the tear gas and then before I started realising what was happening they started hitting me left and right,” he said. Iqbal suffered fractured in his fingers and hand. Nassar, Mojassam and Iqbal, all joined the protest on Monday.

Bits of brick and glass strewn about in front of the reading room (Credit: Atul Krishna)

Going home

Many students have had enough and are going home.

“It is no longer safe for us here,” said Shafaque Omar, a second-year MA gender studies student, while trying to book a cab to pick up her, a friend and several suitcases. But no cab was willing to come to Jamia. Even the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation had shut the Jamia Millia Islamia metro station.

“Yesterday, police stormed inside, vandalised property dragged students out of the hostels and beat them up. Hostels are supposed to be the safest place for students but yesterday there were more police inside hostels than students,” said Omar.

Even JMI’s security guards were not spared. “The police hit everyone, even our fellow security guards,” said one asking not to be named. “They entered at around 7 pm and just started attacking. Our guard in charge had a big gash on his head and blood was pouring out. The police also destroyed all CCTV cameras.”

Omar tries to book a cab (Credit: Atul Krishna)

By evening, residents of Begum Hazrat Mahal Girl's Hostel were asked to return to their homes. Students unable to leave immediately have been asked to approach the hostel administration so that they can be provided facilities. The advisory is meant to help avoid "unnecessary problems".

‘Will this rule be made for all universities?’

Speaking at a press briefing held on Monday, Jamia Millia Islamia University's Vice-Chancellor, Najma Aktar said the university will file an FIR about the entry of policemen into the campus without permission.

"Property you can manage but the situation students have gone through, there is no fixing that," she said. "We make a strong demand for a high-level inquiry into this [incident] and we will make this request to the [HRD] minister….beating students studying inside the library is not acceptable. And will this rule be made for all universities that the police will enter randomly?” she asked. Although the minister for human resource development , Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ made a statement, he did not publicly acknowledge the violence wrought by the police or Akhtar’s request.

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