New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru Students’ Union (JNUSU) demanded Tuesday that no administrative or legal action be taken against the students protesting against a hostel fee hike.
However, much to their dislike the Delhi Police lodged two FIRs Tuesday in connection with the protests by students. One FIR was registered at the Kishangarh police station, while another was lodged at the Lodhi Colony police station, said an official.
JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said they had a meeting with the Joint Secretary of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, GC Hosur, and requested him to ensure no administrative action against students.
“Students have been getting notices through e-mail for these protests. But these protests are for a just cause and no student will pay even a single-rupee fine,” Aishe Ghosh told reporters here.
The students’ union alleged that the registrar of the university refused to meet the members of the HRD Ministry-appointed panel for mediating between the agitating students and the administration and recommending ways to restore the normal functioning of the varsity.
The JNUSU, which has been leading the agitation against a hostel fee hike for three weeks, said the strike would not be called off until their demands were met.
“We have got to know that the registrar refused to meet the HRD Ministry-appointed panel to mediate between us and the university. See their high-handedness. When they can refuse to entertain government representatives, how can they be expected to talk to us,” Ghosh stated. “The strike will continue till our demands are met and the fee hike is completely rolled back,” asserted the JNUSU president.
Meanwhile talking about the FIRs lodged Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said that a case under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) was registered at the Lodhi Colony police station regarding Monday’s incident at Aurobindo Marg.
IPC sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 151 (knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were also added to the FIR, Thakur added.
There was no immediate reaction from the JNUSU on the issue.
PTI
