ABVP members allege attack by Left activists, demand security on JNU campus

Members of the ABVP's JNU unit today alleged that they are being attacked by Left-affiliated groups in the varsity and refused to go back to the campus till the university administration assured them of security.

Alleging a series of attacks on its members, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's student wing accused Left activists of curtailing their "freedom of expression".

"They are always going gaga over their demands for freedom of expression but are they the only one who deserve this freedom. Why is our freedom of expression being curtailed?" Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad member Niharika Jha said at a press conference here.

Jha alleged that she was attacked by Left activists Saturday night when she was returning from a police station on a motorcycle.

"We are so scared. They are simply taking out their frustration on us despite winning the elections. Who will take the responsibility for our security? We will not go back to our hostel rooms till the university administration assures us of safety," another ABVP member Satvik, who claimed he received injuries on his head during the violence, said.

Sushil, a specially abled student, attended the press conference on a stretcher and narrated the story of the alleged attack on him.

Violence erupted on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus after a united front of Left student groups Sunday won all four central panel posts in the union defeating the ABVP by considerable margins.

While the AISA alleged that ABVP members randomly attacked students, with a former student being almost "lynched" and the new JNUSU president being beaten up, the RSS-affiliate claimed its activists were attacked by Left supporters and three were injured.

This is the second incident of the two groups clashing on the campus, the last being on Saturday ahead of the counting, which was suspended after election authorities cited "forcible entry" and "attempts to snatch away ballot boxes".

Five FIRs have been registered on the basis of cross complaints in connection with the alleged incidents of violence on the JNU campus.