Ramjas clashes: Police accuse 5 DU professors of leading ‘azadi-shouting’ group

Police accused five Delhi University professors of leading a group that shouted slogans about “azadi” at Ramjas College earlier this year, which led to clashes on the campus.

Delhi police in its action taken report on the incident, submitted before a city court on Thursday, said participants of a literary festival at the college on February 21 came out of a conference room under the leadership of the five professors raising slogans, which were directed against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.

The nine-page report said group led by professors Mukul Manglik, Vinita Chandra, Debraj Mookerjee, NA Jacob and Benu Lal chanted slogans such as “Hum kya mange Azadi”, “Kashmir Mange Azadi”, “Bastar Mange azadi”, “ye pyari pyari azadi”, “ye sundar wali azadi”, “Police tum Bahar Jao”, “Hamara Umar wapas lao.”

It said the group also took out a protest march on the campus on that day.

Refuting police’s charges, Mookerjee, one of the professors named in the report, told Hindustan Times he was not even present in the conference hall when the march had started.

“Neither was I part of the march, nor was I present in the area where the slogans were allegedly raised,” he said.

The report, filed by a joint commissioner of police (crime) in pursuance to earlier court order, further stated that some administrative staff and teachers of the college were also under its scanner.

Violence had erupted after students from the DU colleges and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) congregated outside the Ramjas to hold a protest march against the ABVP on February 22.

They were demanding action against the ABVP members who had allegedly hackled and threw stones at students gathered for a seminar at the conference hall a day before, where JNU student Umar Khalid, who is facing sedition charges, was invited to speak.

Several students, journalists and a DU associate professor, Prasanta Chakravarty, was injured in the clash.

The ATR was filed before metropolitan magistrate Abhilash Malhotra in connection with a complaint filed by advocate Vivek Garg seeking an FIR against those who allegedly raised anti-national slogans at the college on February 21 and 22.

Garg in his plea alleged that slogans were raised by members of the All India Students Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

Police in its ATR said they were also looking into eight complaints against ABVP supporters and 37 against AISA supporters and sought from the proctor details of students of various colleges of the DU present at the site.

Police also served notice to the principal of the Ramjas College to provide the footage of the CCTV installed on the campus or any video recording done by the administration at the time of the incident.

Acting principal of the college PC Tulsian, meanwhile, refused to comment on the police report saying the “matter is sub judice.”

“Moreover, I cannot comment on the incidents at these happened in February whereas I joined in March. Since then, we have taken measures to prevent recurrence of such incident.”

The court will hear the arguments of the complainants on August 29.