Report of the fact finding team on 5th January attack on JNU

Report of the fact finding team on 5th January attack on JNU:-

During ITO gherao on 5th Jan against attack on JNU students , DCP, Mr Randhawa, met with a delegation consisting of students and teachers across universities .The delegation made a submission to the DCP to take immediate actions, provide medical relief and arrest of the assaulters. Furthermore, on the demand of the delegation, two teams were formed; DCP agreed to provide police protection to both the teams. First team comprised of Vishal Prasad, Gaffar Khan, Akhtarista Ansari, Shehzad Ahmed, Afaque Haider & Mayukh Biswas. The second team comprised of Sahil Ahmed and Advocate Areeb which went to Trauma Centre.
(Due to the gravity of the unfortunate incident we are not revealing any names to avoid any further attack on the students. This is a brief report as the team found the incident sites and JNU campus were almost deserted and whosoever we met were in utter shock and in immediate need of relief. A further report would be published taking the chronology of events and statements of students into account.)

T

he first team went to JNU around 3 a.m. in the morning. At JNU gate we were first denied entry by the police but later due to the pressure of the JNU students and JNUSU office bearer, Satish Chandra Yadav, the first team got inside the campus.
The team went to the the Sabarmati Hostel. The glasses of the entry gate of Sabarmati were broken and pieces of glasses scattered here and there. There we met students at the Sabarmati's ground floor.

The students informed more than 100 goons from ABVP had entered the campus armed with iron rods through different routes.The events began from 4 p.m.Inside Sabarmati Hostel, it was observed that the ABVP goons had selectively targeted the rooms identifying by pamphlets, posters and room numbers of students from left, ambedkarite, muslims & Kashmiris.
The selective targeting is also evident from the fact that the rooms of students affiliated with ABVP and their sympathisers were left untouched where as the rooms of common students and the students who sharpened the struggle against anti-people fee hike were completely vandalized. Furthere targeting, the rooms of Kashmiri students were not only vandalized but deliberate attempt was made to kill them by throwing fire extinguishers in their rooms where as the adjacent rooms which are occupied by ABVP affiliates remain untouched.

Many students (no. still coming) suffered from severe injuries in the attack. Scores of students were admitted in the Trauma Centre alone. JNUSU President, Aishe Ghosh, critically was attacked leading to injuries on head and arm and was critically hospitalized. Satish Chandra, Gen. Sec. JNUSU, too suffered from several injuries on neck and face. JNU faculty Prof. Sucharita Sen was also severely injured with head injuries. She was hospitalized as well.
From everywhere gory and graphic scenes of cuts, wounds, broken heads, fractured arms and limbs emereged. Female students were manhandled & molested. Students also reported that the goons entered inside the Koyna Female Hostel and there too female students were molested and manhandled.

The incident that transpired on 5th January in JNU was pre-planned by ABVP with Police in hands and gloves. The goons came with their faces covered. It is evident from the facts reported by the injured students that the street lights were switched off.
One eyewitness reported, " I was at the main gate around 9 p.m., there was a crowd, I joined the crowd, few started questioning me and my Identity was revealed suddenly I was slapped from behind , kicks & punches issued. I got surrounded by 50 people and they started beating me. I escaped somehow and saved myself."

Police was deployed but not only they remained silent spectators; they also helped the goons to unleash brutalities and wreck havoc on JNU students. While the goons were attacking, the students were repeatedly calling Police for aid but they didn't respond.Later Police escorted these goons out of the campus as well.
The Police explicitly didn't allow the ambulance and medical to reach to the injured students. Police also didn't register FIR and immediate arrest of the assaulters even though it was repeatedly demanded by the students and the Police spoke in the language of whereaboutery.

In the entire episode, the Private Security People were also an active participant. They covered their faces and attacked on the early morning of 4th January on the students who were doing sit-in on Admin Block of JNU.
The students allege the involvement of security guards to get the ABVP goons inside campus.

These were the findings of the team which visited JNU at 3 a.m. of 6th January so far immediately after the unfortunate event. In due time, we will try to bring out a fuller and more conclusive report taking all the facts, evidences and statements establishing chronology of the events.

Fact Finding Team:-

Vishal Prasad
Akhtarista Ansari
Gaffar Khan
Afaque Haider
Shehzad Ahmed
Mayukh Biswas