New Delhi, February 23 Following late-night clashes at Jawaharlal Nehru University, which left several students injured, the university authorities said on Monday that they had taken the incident seriously and warned of strict action against any unruly behavior.
Tensions escalated on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after a protest turned violent around 1:30 am on Monday, with both the Left-led students' union and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accusing each other of violence and stone-pelting.
A statement issued by the JNU registrar said that the university is committed to maintaining a safe academic environment and warned of strict action under the university rules and the BNS against any unruly behavior.
"The JNU administration has been informed that several academic buildings on campus were reportedly locked by a group of protesting students. The protesters reportedly entered the central library and threatened unwilling students, intimidating them to join the protest," the statement said.
"This led to a scuffle between two student groups on campus. The JNU administration has taken these disturbing incidents very seriously," the statement added.
Urging all stakeholders to maintain peace, the statement said that classes and other activities are continuing as scheduled.
The right-wing student body, ABVP, claimed that the protest turned violent after Left-backed groups attacked students studying in the reading rooms.
"Many students were locked in bathrooms. Left-backed students demanded the closure of all the reading rooms," alleged ABVP state secretary Vikas Patel, claiming that masked individuals carrying sticks and stones spread violence on the campus.
The Left-backed JNUSU had called for a protest march, 'Samta Juloos', to the East Gate on the campus on Sunday night, demanding the resignation of Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and the revocation of a suspension order.
