ABVP demands security for its students over missing JNU youth

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Friday approached the Delhi Police Commissioner asking him to provide security cover to the three JNU students who were involved in a fight with another student, Najeeb Ahmed, who has since gone missing.

"We the ABVP-JNU demand from police that the three JNU students -- Vikrant, Sunil and Ankit, who are victims of the violence occurring the night of October 14, be provided with efficient security at the earliest," a memorandum submitted to the police commissioner read.

The RSS-affiliated ABVP said in the memo that the three students are being "threatened" by the JNU Students Union (JNUSU)-- composed of a Left party alliance -- and demanded that two JNU students, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, be interrogated as they may be involved in Ahmed's disappearance.

Khalid and Bhattacharya are two of the 19 students against whom Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities (JNU) had taken action for indiscipline after the February 9 incident during which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. Both the students challenged the punishments, which included rustication and withdrawal of hostel facilities, in court.

The ABVP also asked the police to probe Ahmed's room-mate Mohd. Qasim's role and said that he has been "inconsistent" in his depositions.

An eyewitness to the whole affair on the intervening night of October 14 and 15, Qasim maintained that it was not a brawl but a mob assault on Ahmed by the three ABVP students, including others. A letter which was purportedly written by Qasim -- requesting the Warden of Mahi-Mandvi hostel to evict Ahmed -- has since been denied by him.

"The first letter was written by a student of the same hostel, who was Election Committee (EC) member during last month's elections. He wrote the letter while I was trying to assuage the crowd inside the Warden's office that night. My only priority was the safety of Najeeb as the mob was baying for his blood," Qasim had earlier told IANS.

Another letter -- denouncing the previous one as a trickery played against him-- was then written by Qasim on October 18 which described Ahmed as a politically naive and humble person and said that he never felt any threat from him.

The ABVP has requested the police to thoroughly search the JNU campus also, saying that Ahmed "might be taken hostage inside the campus itself by the radical organisations in the campus".

Ahmed, an M.Sc Biotechnology student, went missing on the night of October 14-15 after being beaten up by a mob of around 20 students alleged to be from the ABVP.

The memorandum was submitted to the police commissioner by ABVP, JNU, President Alok Kumar Singh along with other members.

--IANS

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