DU forms 7-member panel to probe January 27 ruckus over BBC documentary screening

NEW DELHI: The Delhi University on Saturday formed a 7-member committee to investigate the ruckus outside the Arts Faculty building over the screening of a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. The committee, headed by DU Proctor Rajini Abbi, has been asked to submit its report to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh by 5 pm on January 30.

In a notification, the university said the vice-chancellor has constituted the committee to enforce discipline and maintain law and order on the campus. The other members of the committee are Professor Ajay Kumar Singh of the Department of Commerce, Professor Manoj Kumar Singh, Joint Proctor, Professor Sanjoy Roy of the Department of Social Work, Professor Rama, Principal of Hansraj College, Professor Dinesh Khattar, Principal of Kirorimal College, and Gaje Singh, Chief Security Officer, it added.

"The Committee may specifically look into the incident of the 27th of January, 2023 which occurred outside the Faculty of Arts and opposite gate No. 4, University of Delhi," the notification said.

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A commotion erupted at the Delhi University on Friday as students attempted to screen the controversial BBC documentary, even as police and the university administration intervened to scuttle the move.

Twenty-four students affiliated with the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) were detained from the Delhi University's Arts Faculty and a heavy police deployment was maintained in the North Campus. The university claimed that "outsiders" were trying to screen the documentary and the police was called to maintain law and order.