New Delhi: Several students on hunger strike demanding the restoration of Jamia Millia Islamia’s students’ union elections were allegedly forcibly removed from the campus before dawn Saturday, triggering a commotion and further protests. The university subsequently suspended and rusticated some protesters, prompting a sit-in outside the campus amid police deployment.
Protesters alleged that around 5:30 am Saturday, security personnel switched off the lights, manhandled students and dragged them out of the campus before handing them over to Delhi Police . The students were subsequently released.
The notice warned that such gatherings could affect “campus discipline, peace and communal harmony”, and directed them to refrain from organising prayers at the site. Police said no one was detained and only some individuals who were trying to break the gate were removed. The protesters were also served notice by the university administration Friday for allegedly inciting current and former students and outsiders to assemble at Ghalib Lawn, where the protest was being held, for congregational Friday prayers instead of offering namaz at nearby mosques. Videos that surfaced Saturday evening showed a large group of protesters shaking the university gate until it broke before storming into the campus, while police personnel attempted to disperse the crowd.