NHRC team to visit campus on Jan 14 for inquiry, says Jamia VC Najma Akhtar

Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar on Sunday said that a team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will visit the campus on January 14 to take statements and proofs from the injured students and witnesses in connection with the December 15 incident of alleged police excesses following their entry into the varsity campus.

Talking to ANI, Najma said: "A team of NHRC had already visited the campus and we have provided the required evidence to them. A team will again visit the university on Tuesday (Jan 14). The commission will take statements and proofs from injured students and witnesses (of December 15 incident). I hope they will try to see through our point of view."

On December 15, clashes had allegedly erupted between the Delhi Police and Jamia students after a protest against the newly-amended Citizenship law turned violent.

The vice-chancellor also alleged that the police has not filed an FIR in connection with the incident as of now.

"The police didn't say whether an FIR has been filed or not. We have not received any evidence stating that the FIR has been filed in connection with the incident," Najma said.

She added that the university authorities had written a letter to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) immediately after the incident took place and requested to initiate a high-level inquiry into the matter.

"We had written a letter to the HRD ministry and requested the ministry to initiate a high-level inquiry into the matter as many of our innocent students were injured in the violence. The way the police entered the campus is unacceptable," Najma said.

She added, "No action was taken in this regard by the ministry till now. We have been writing to authorities concerned and meeting the higher officials as inquiry through MHRD is the only option before us."

Claiming that the anti-CAA protests didn't start from Jamia Millia Islamia, the vice-chancellor said: "The protests that have been going on across the country neither started nor will end with Jamia. It has been going on across the country."

Adding that the university had never stopped anyone from their right to dissent, she said: "However, we are of the opinion that the academics of the students should not be affected because of the ongoing protests. We want peace to prevail in the university."

Further, she said that the security deployment has been beefed up in the campus and the authorities are trying to provide maximum security to the students inside the campus and hostels.

Asserting that varsity authorities are taking precautionary measures to avoid any such incidents in the future, Najma said, "The university will bear the medical expenses of those injured in the violence."

"Exams are going on and the next sessions of the academics will start right after the exams. So I appeal students not to miss any examination and ruin their future because when youth are agitated, others take advantage of them," she added.