The prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi is at the centre of a nation-wide outrage after a few students organised an event on the campus on Tuesday to protest against the hanging of Afzal Guru, a convict in the Parliament attack case.
Reports said several anti-India slogans like “India go back” and “We will fight the war till we destroy India” were shouted during the event leading to a clash between the protesters and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing students' outfit.
ABVP has demanded that the organisers of the event be expelled from the university. The event has drawn sharp reactions across social media also with a hashtag #ShutDownJNU trending on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Police said they were in the process of scanning the footage of the event to find out what kind of slogans were raised and to identify those who raised them. "If there is anything anti-national, we will act according to the law. We are also recording the statement of students," P.S. Kushwaha, additional DCP (South) told a newspaper.
Meanwhile, the university authorities on Wednesday ordered a “disciplinary” probe into the issue. "The permission for the programme was sought by giving incomplete information, so it is an act of indiscipline. A committee headed by the Chief Proctor will examine the footage of the event and speak to the witnesses. On the basis of the report, the varsity will take appropriate action," JNU Vice Chancellor Jagdeesh Kumar said.
Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi said there was no mention in the permission request that the event would be on Afzal Guru. “They just said that they wanted to organise a cultural event. How can any talk about disintegration of nation be national?," he asked.
