AMU Teachers' Association seeks judicial probe into Dec 15 clashes

The AMU Teachers' Association on Friday called for a judicial probe into the clashes between police and students during a protest against the amended citizenship law last week.

The association also demanded that "false cases" against Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students be immediately withdrawn and guilty police personnel be punished as per the law. Without these it will become difficult to restore normalcy on the institute's campus, the teachers' body said.

Hundreds of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students protesting against the amended Citizenship Act clashed with police on December 15 at a campus gate after which the university adminstration announced closure of the institution till January 5.

After the clash the police had said students broke the police cordon and fought pitched battles with them. But students had questioned this version.

"Nothing less than a judicial inquiry" will help in ensuring justice to the victims of the violent incidents of December 15, the association said in a resolution passed in a meeting of its executive committee on Friday.

Personnel behind the alleged police excesses during the protest are yet to be identified. They should be punished as per the law of the land, it said, adding that if this is not done restoration of normal functioning of AMU would be difficult.

The association said "all false cases filed against students should be withdrawn immediately" to restore confidence in the rule of law and announced its resolve to "continue its struggle against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in a peaceful manner".

The teachers' body asked students who suffered losses of any kind during the violence to submit their cases to it within the next 10 days with evidence so that legal process can be initiated.

The association has decided to broaden its movement by holding a wider meeting of senior faculty members and inviting all former office bearers of the body, its secretary Najmul Islam told reporters.

He said the AMU Teachers' Association is ready to play a constructive role in helping restore normalcy and peace on campus.

On Friday, students of the university, who are protesting against the Act, took a pledge to defend the Constitution and also read out the Preamble.

The founding fathers of India had gone out of their way to ensure religion had no role in defining the concept of Indian citizenship, but today the whole world is seeing the CAA as a law that violates the spirit of the Constitution, they claimed.

The protesting students said they will continue the agitation peacefully against the law.