JNU fines Kanhaiya, rusticates Umar, Anirban

Jawaharlal Nehru University has imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on its students’ union leader, Mr Kanhaiya Kumar, and rusticated Umar Khalid and two other students for varying durations in connection with the February 9 event on the campus against Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging. The action is likely to lead to large-scale protests, Based on a high-level enquiry committee’s findings, the university administration has also taken strict action against 14 other students, including Mr Mujeeb Gattoo and Mr Anirban Bhattacharya, who were present during the event where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.

Mr Umar Khalid has been rusticated for one semester, another student leader, Mr Anirban Bhattacharya, till July 15, and Mujeeb Gattoo for two semesters. Mr Bhattacharya has also been barred from pursuing any course in JNU for the next five years. The campus has been rendered out of bounds for two former students — Ms Banojyotsana Lahiri and Ms Draupadi Ghosh — while hostel facilities have been withdrawn for Mr Ashutosh Kumar for a year and Komal Mohite till July 21.

Among other students fined Rs 20,000 are Rama Naga, Ananth Kumar, Sweta Raj, Rubina and Chintu Kumari. Surprisingly, Aishwarya Adhikari, whose name was not mentioned in the report, has also been fined. Even JNUSU joint secretary Saurabh Sharma, the only ABVP member in the union, has been fined Rs 10,000 for disrupting traffic on campus.

In separate signed orders, the JNU chief proctor said the students were being rusticated and fined by the vice-chancellor in exercise of the powers vested in him under Statute 32 (5) of the statutes of the university.

Soon after the news related to the administration’s action spread, students and faculty in unison criticised the varsity for acting according to the dictates of the saffron brigade at the Centre.

“They are polluting the atmosphere of the university to meet their petty political ends,” a student leader told this newspaper. Reacting to this, CPI national secretary D. Raja questioned the basis on which the varsity had taken such a harsh decision against its students. “What is the evidence on the basis of which JNU has acted Even videos used as evidence have found to be doctored. The decision has been taken by the varsity on the orders of their political bosses, which is a very dangerous thing.”

Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on February 12, three days after the controversial event. Around 10 days later, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya resurfaced on the campus before surrendering to the police. The police had interrogated Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya together for a day, after which they identified as many as 22 persons who allegedly participated in the JNU event. Both Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid had argued before a Delhi court that they never raised any anti-national slogans and claimed that video footage showing them raising these slogans were “false and doctored”.

The arrest of the three had triggered a wave of protests that catapulted the students into the national limelight with media telecasting Mr Kumar’s speeches live.

The controversy also galvanised the Opposition that accused the government of attempting to muzzle dissent.

JNU constituted a five-member high-level enquiry committee to investigate the incident.

The committee found some students guilty of violating disciplinary norms and disrupting communal harmony on campus.

“The incident in the JNU campus on 9 February 2016 involving some students to hold a ‘Poetry Reading’ event on the theme ‘A Country without a Post Office’ did not have the approval of the administration and, as it was alleged later, some participants in the event indulged in objectionable sloganeering,” the university said in a statement.

It said the committee arrived at its conclusion based on “depositions, perusal of video clips (provided by JNU Security and authenticated by forensic tests), and examination of documents on record.

While Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya have been accused of triggering communal violence and disrupting communal harmony on campus, Mujeeb Gattoo has been charged with allegedly participating in the sloganeering.

The report of the five-member panel had also pointed out lapses by the administration and took into account the role of outsiders into the event. But no action has been taken against any administration official.