JNU row: CPI-M tells Kejriwal to conduct independent probe

Communist Party India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri on Saturday met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and demanded an independent probe into the Jawaharlal Nehru University row.

"We have requested Arvind Kejriwal to institute independent magisterial enquiry in the matter. He assured us that he will take decision based on the evidences he has. The authenticity of the evidence must be established. This was deliberately done by ABVP to ensure and create such a situation in JNU," Yechury told the media here.

The communist leader pointed out that to create a threat in the university is a political conspiracy of the Central Government.

"We have requested the Chief Minister to punish the offenders. To create a threat in the university is a political conspiracy of the Central Government. We believe the evidences are wrong. It must be proved whether the evidences are right or wrong," he added.

A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student's union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in connection with a case of sedition, the Delhi Police on Saturday detained seven more students from the university.

The police had cracked down on a group of protestors at the JNU on Friday and arrested the student leader on sedition charges for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during a demonstration in the campus to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on Tuesday.

Kumar's arrest evoked strong reactions from JNU students and teachers, past and present, and Opposition parties even as the RSS's students wing ABVP 'thanked' police for arresting the "anti-nationals". The arrest of Kumar, a member of the CPI's students wing AISF, was made a day after BJP MP from East Delhi, Maheish Girri, registered a complaint.

The protest was staged even though the JNU administration had revoked permission following a complaint from the ABVP.