Violence broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in police which conducted a flag march.
Post the attack chairman of the Mahindra group Anand Mahindra condemned the attack and said ‘if you’re an Indian, one cannot tolerate armed, lawless goons’.
Anand Mahindra took to Twitter and wrote: “It doesn’t matter what your politics are. It doesn’t matter what your ideology is. It doesn’t matter what your faith is. If you’re an Indian, you cannot tolerate armed, lawless goons. Those who invaded JNU tonight must be traced & hunted down swiftly & given no quarter…”
At least 28 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours. Eyewitnesses alleged the attackers entered the premises when a meeting was being held by JNU Teachers’ Association on the issue of violence on campus and assaulted students and professors. They also barged into three hostels. Video footage aired by some TV channels showed a group of men, who were brandishing hockey sticks and rods, moving around a building.
The Left-controlled JNUSU and the RSS-backed ABVP blamed each other for the incident.
The JNU administration said late in the night that students opposing the semester registration process “moved aggressively” in a bid to stop those supporting the process, triggering a clash, while “masked miscreants” carrying sticks and rods went on a rampage in hostel rooms.
