‘Dragged us by the collar’: SFI alleges RSS, police disrupted AUD UG orientation programme at Bharat Mandapam

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has alleged that the members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated group disrupted its fresher welcome programme during the undergraduate orientation at the Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) today.

The students’ federation has uploaded a video on its Instagram page, saying that the “RSS VC Goons disrupted SFI activists who had been welcoming freshers today at the UG Orientation at Bharat Mandapam.”

Some of its members were also “brutally manhandled” during their peaceful orientation programme, SFI added in the post.

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“Comrade Sameer and Comrade Amish were brutally manhandled despite us trying to discuss the matter peacefully. Comrade Karan's phone was also snatched from him. It was clear that this was an attempt to provoke us but we did not rise to the bait,” it added.

A university student told Careers360 over the phone that the university administration was “threatening the security guards” and had sealed parts of the AUD campus to prevent students from protesting.

“SFI activists were manhandled during the incident and taken into police custody, later released. The police said that the disruption was part of the safety and security concerns,” the student said.

Moreover, he also added that the police personnel did not have any knowledge about the undergraduate orientation programme being held at the university. Some students were also dragged by their collars during the incident, the student told us.

Furthermore, the police personnel that disrupted the SFI orientation programme were in the police uniform but did not have any identity cards or the badges, the student added.

On August 11, the SFI had also organised a rally in Delhi University’s North Campus as part of its ‘Azadi Week’ celebrations. Several students from DU, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Ambedkar University Delhi (AMU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and several schools took part in the peaceful rally.