A bus with students from Jawaharlal Nehru University, who were trying to reach Banga Bhavan on Saturday to protest the recent violence and police atrocities on protesting students of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, was stopped by the Delhi Police midway. The students alleged that the police personnel forcefully entered the bus and intimidated the driver into changing direction.
“We managed to mobilise around 1,000 students from JNU. One of the buses was about to reach Tuglak Road when it was suddenly stopped and policemen forcefully entered the bus and tried to drag the students out of it. We somehow managed to leave after an hour and reach Banga Bhavan where we staged a protest. After this we marched to Jantar Mantar,” said Sucheta De from the All India Students’ Association that organised the protest along with several other groups.
IntimidationMs. De said that the police tried to intimidate the driver who was later taken to the police station and was allegedly issued a challan of Rs. 1,500.
The students said on Tuesday night, a large number of West Bengal police personnel in uniform along with several men in plainclothes, lathi-charged several students of Jadavpur University, who were peacefully protesting to demand action against those identified in the molestation of a female student, who was criminally assaulted in August. Several students were hospitalised and many of them had suffered fractures in the police assault, the students here alleged.
“Women students were openly manhandled, groped, molested, dragged, kicked in their stomach, stomped by boots, punched, and walked over by male police and bouncers. Some had their dresses torn. Some had their glasses broken, some had their laptop thrashed, phones broken, and even rape threats were given to women as police turned off lights in the portico where students were protesting. Fifteen women students have filed FIRs detailing the violence unleashed on them. One woman was dragged by her hair while her dress was lifted and she was thrown into the police van by four bouncers in civil dress in the absence of women constables/police,” said Ms. De, while narrating the incident at Jadavpur University.
