Police probe fails to find evidence against Kanhaiya Kumar

The evidence collected by the police on the basis of details provided by the JNU security officers and ABVP joint secretary and Ph.D. student Saurabh Kumar Sharma against JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case does not mention a word to suggest he had raised anti-India slogans. However, the evidence gathered on the basis of Mr Sharma and four other JNU students suggests that slogans were raised by the organisers of the February 9 event along with Mr Kumar.

The evidence, based on the statements of 14 people, however, shows that Mr Kumar was present at the controversial February 9 event at the varsity where 15 to 20 students had formed an “unlawful assembly.” A copy of internal report, prepared by the police itself, said that the assembly of the students was unlawful as they had not sought prior official permission for it.

The copy of the report accessed by this newspaper said since permission for the event was obtained on false pretext of holding a cultural programme by the “main organisers Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya” later turned out to be “an anti-national activity” proved it was “preconceived” and “well-planned conspiracy” by the “accused persons” for committing the “anti-national activity.”

The report said: “That was an illegal procession as there was no official permission in this regard as per the chief security officer of the JNU and since the procession was of more than five persons who ultimately committed offences under Section 147/ 149 of the IPC. The procession was raising anti-national slogans, provoking students to indulge in violence against the government.”

In his written statement to the police, JNU chief security officer Naveen Yadav, said Mr Kumar was one of the leaders “leading the procession.” Security guard inspector Sandeep Kumar said there was a gathering of about 15 to 20 students who were raising “anti-national slogans” and told the police that Mr Kumar was also present there.

Like Sandeep Kumar, security assistants Suraj Prakash, Hoshiyar Singh, Amarjeet Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Gaurav Bali and Bhagirath Singh have just said that the JNUSU president was present at the event. However, none of them have reportedly told the police that Mr Kumar had raised any slogans.

Except Saurabh Kumar Sharma, who also said “anti-national” slogans were raised by a gathering of 15 to 20 students where Mr Kumar was also present, four other JNU students Anima Sonkar, Priyadhharshani, Bhaskar Jyoti and Anima Ankur Aryan told the police that the “anti-national slogans were raised by the organisers along with Kanhaiya.”

In its report sent to the police commissioner’s office on Sunday, the police also maintained that it “did not enter into the JNU complex without requisition from the concerned authorities,” the sources said.

The report has reportedly specified that about two dozen different slogans were witnessed to have been raised at the event and the list doesn’t include the “Pakistan Zindabad” phrase mentioned in the statement attached with the FIR, registered on the basis of a video clip obtained from a TV news channel.