Delhi Police on Friday named JNU student leader Aishe Ghosh and eight others for attack at a hostel and also released their photos caught on CCTV cameras.
Identifying nine suspects, the Delhi Police has alleged that JNU Student’s Union President Aishe Ghosh led the mob that attacked the Periyar hostel on the evening of January 5.
Out of the 9 suspects, only two appear to be affiliated to the ABVP, which the JNUSU has accused of attacking students and teachers of the university.
The police said “muffled” students, led by Ghosh were caught on camera targetting specific rooms in Periyar Hostel.
It further alleged that this attack came a day after an FIR was filed following a complaint by the JNU administration that “some miscreants” had attempted to disrupt the registration process.
Press conference by Delhi police
Naqabposh exposed by
PRO #LeftBehindJNUViolence pic.twitter.com/DRJSB39kFj— DharmvirJangra (@dharmvirjangra9) January 10, 2020
Beginning the press briefing, Delhi Police PRO, MS Randhawa said that it has been observed that a lot of misinformation related to the violence at JNU is being circulated.
The investigation regarding the criminal cases filed in connection with JNU violence incident is being done by the Crime Branch.
Joy Tirkey, DCP Crime said three cases have been registered till now and are being investigated.
Tirkey told reporters that a large majority of students wanted to register but four Left-backed groups and their sympathizers did not allow the students to do it.
“JNU administration decided to go for online registration of students from January 1-5. JNU Students’ Union including Students Front of India, All India Students Federation, All India Students Association and Democratic Students Federation were against it,” he said.
He further said that no suspect has been detained till now and that the police will begin interrogating the suspects soon.
Those identified include Chunchun Kumar, Pankaj Mishra, Aishe Ghosh (JNUSU President-elect), Waskar Vijay, Sucheta Talukraj, Priya Ranjan, Dolan Sawant, Yogendra Bhardwaj and Vikas Patel.
The Delhi Police also spoke about a second attack on January 5 by a “muffled” group carrying sticks and batons, who targetted rooms in Sabarmati Hostel where the students and JNU Teacher’s Association were holding a meeting.
These suspects are yet to be identified, they said, adding that identification of the suspects was done on the basis of pictures and videos that went viral as CCTV footage could not be retained.
Reacting on the development, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Delhi Police has made it clear that the Left student groups are “the main accused”. “Left groups pre-planned the violence,” he said.
Union Minister Smriti Irani also lashed out saying that the “Left design in JNU has been unmasked”.
Left design in JNU unmasked. They led mobs of mayhem, destroyed public property paid for by taxpayers, disallowed new students from being enrolled, used the campus as a political battleground. #LeftBehindJNUViolence becomes public knowledge as @DelhiPolice releases evidence.
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 10, 2020
Meanwhile, JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh has proclaimed her innocence saying that the police had filed a “selective FIR”. She also challenged the police to provide proof for framing her.
Unprecedented violence broke out in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on Sunday night as several masked individuals, both male and female, thrashed students, including girls, and teachers inside the campus with wooden and metal rods, injuring at least 34 people.
The mob was reportedly seen carrying hammers, iron rods, sledgehammers and stones in videos and photographs that emerged out of the JNU campus.
Aishe Ghosh was badly injured after she was allegedly hit by an iron rod over the eye.
Eyewitnesses said 50-odd goons entered the campus around 6.30 pm on Sunday.
On January 7, the Delhi Police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against student leader Aishe Ghosh and 19 others for allegedly destroying the varsity’s property.
Ghosh, who herself was severely injured in the January 5 violence, was booked for attacking security guards and vandalizing server room on January 4.