District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar in his probe report has give a clean chit to all the students who are facing sedition charges, but he has mentioned that the role of Umar Khalid needs to be “fully investigated” as he was one of the main organisers of the February 9 event and can be seen in many videos.
Umar Khalid: Highlighting Umar’s opinion on Kashmir and Afzal Guru, the DM has suggested further probe into his role in the event. “It could be presumed that Umar Khalid was the first speaker and initial slogans were raised by him,” says the report.
Ashutosh & Anirban: Describing the role of Ashutosh Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, the DM wrote that these two were with Umar Khalid and ‘possibly’ raised pro-Afzal slogans. “This could not be ascertained from the video or witness statements, but a few of the security staff claimed to identify their voices from the crowd.”
Kanhaiya Kumar: As per the findings, none of the witnesses heard Kanhaiya Kumar giving anti-national speech. “Possibly, Kanhaiya was called when the programme was not allowed to be conducted or being disrupted by another group. He came there and tried to mediate.”
The report does not mention anything in particular against Rama Naga and Anant Prakash Narayan, two other students charged with sedition, but suggests role of “others” in organising the event. It does not deny that anti-India slogans were raised, but Mr. Kumar in his report says that in several videos, possibly students of Kashmiri descent, identified through their accent, shouted pro-aazadi and anti-India slogans. “They should be immediately identified for further investigation. JNU students and administration would be working in bringing them to the book.”
