JNU Student Groups Face Off Late Night Over Student Union Polls

New Delhi:

Three students were injured at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed groups clashed on Thursday night, police said.

Videos shared by the student groups show chaos inside the university campus as a group of students rain blows and attack each other during a general body meeting for the upcoming students’ union polls.

An argument broke out between the groups over the selection of election committee members at the School of Languages last night after which the students began fighting with each other.

JNU Student Groups Face Off Late Night Over Student Union Polls https://t.co/KH02eaDcfrpic.twitter.com/66fbqtYC7I

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One of the videos shows a student bleeding from his head as he is led away from the group, while another shows a man tossing a cycle at a group of students. A few of them have admitted to Safdarjung Hospital after being injured, a JNU official told new agency PTI.

While the university administration is yet to issue a statement over the incident, the student groups have blamed each other for the clash. However, the police said they have not received any complaints in the matter.

Left-affiliated Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) and All India Students Association (AISA) alleged ABVP members disrupted the meeting and used casteist and sexist slurs to threaten students and heckle security guards.

“The VC office must acknowledge this act of vandalism and violence by the ABVP goons, whose faces are clearly visible and are seen in the videos circulating online. These perpetrators must be punished; they should be booked under relevant sections for unleashing such unprecedented violence,” the AISA said in a statement.

The right wing students’ group blamed JNU Students’ Union and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) president, Aishe Ghosh for launching a “vicious attack on students” and also targeting disabled students.

“The assault on students of the School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies represents a grave violation of the principles of education, tolerance, and human decency,” the ABVP said.