JNU V-C alleges students attacked, manhandled him

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor (V-C) M Jagadesh Kumar on Saturday alleged he was attacked and manhandled by a group of students on campus.

“As I was leaving the administrative block along with other officials, students in a violent manner surrounded me. .. They were trying to physically harm me by pulling my hands and clothes,” he said. “When I got in a vehicle, students snatched the ignition keys. We managed to get into another vehicle and due to presence of mind of my driver, I was able to leave.” He added that students later “vandalised his office.”

He said the students would be identified in the CCTV footage. “It is a criminal act to attack VC and definitely a police case will be filed,” Kumar said.

Earlier this week, the court had asked police to ensure security when the vice-chancellor and other officials entered the administration block, which the students had been occupying for over a month.

JNU students’ union said, “The V-C was asked questions regarding the fee hike by the students. Instead of answering questions, he ran away.” The union also alleged that the V-C “tried to run over a student while injuring other students.”

JNU has been seeing protests for one-and-a-half months over the increase in fee and students have boycotted exams over the issue. The protests had turned violent once, forcing the administration to roll back the hike partially, but the students say they want a complete rollback.