Violence broke out in the Patiala House court complex when groups of lawyers today thrashed journalists and students and teachers of JNU while the political slugfest over the arrest of the university's student leader snowballed with BJP chief Amit Shah targeting Rahul and Sonia Gandhi on the issue.
The Congress hit back at Shah, saying those once "externed by the Supreme Court over criminal charges" should not teach patriotism to the party, which has played a "stellar role" in freedom movement.
Rahul himself attacked the BJP and RSS, saying they do not have respect for diversity of the nation's culture and wanted to control everyone's views.
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In a significant turn in the probe, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said police have so far found "no evidence linking the LeT" to the controversial event at the JNU to mark protest against hanging of Afzal Guru that triggered the crisis.
The Delhi Police a few days ago had pinned a purported tweet of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed in an alert over Twitter asking students not to get carried away by anti-India rhetoric. Yesterday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had claimed that the JNU event had the backing of Saeed that set off a storm of protests from the Opposition.
He justified the arrest of Kumar, claiming that he had raised anti-national slogans during the event.
On the ground, the JNU students today boycotted classes while teachers decided to follow suit from tomorrow.
The university also sent a status report to the HRD Ministry, saying eight students identified by them as shouting slogans at the event.
But it is not clear from the the registrar's report whether Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNUSU President, who has been slapped with sedition charge, was among those who allegedly shouted anti-India slogans.
Groups of lawyers attacked journalists, students and teachers of JNU and unidentified people in and outside the court dubbing them as anti-nationals.
A Delhi BJP MLA O P Sharma, who happened to be in the complex, also joined a group of lawyers in beating up a person, identified as CPI activist Ameeque Jamai, who was taken to Tuglaq Road police station.
The violence broke out when JNUSU President Kanhaiya
Kumar against whom a sedition case has been filed was to be brought before metropolitan magistrate Lovleen for remand proceedings but was later taken elsewhere.
The lawyers, claiming to be patriots, first targeted the JNU students and teachers inside the court. They beat them up telling them that the JNU is a "den" of anti-India elements and terrorists.
A television reporter was attacked while a woman journalist was spared even as the crowd threatened them that their phones and bones will be broken.
Outside the court, another group of lawyers thrashed journalists, JNU students and even court officials. BJP MLA O P Sharma who was in the complex in connection with the hearing in the defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was seen beating up Jamai. Jaitley himself was in the complex for sometime.
Later, when asked by the media, Sharma claimed he was roughed up when there a melee when slogans like 'Pakistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad' were shouted. When told there was footage about his beating up somebody, Sharma said "I do not known which video you are taking about."
And in the same breath, he said "it is not wrong if some body shouting such slogans is beaten up or even done to death."
In all, at least nine journalists were attacked, according to complaint by them with the Tuglaq Road police station. Two of the journalists were taken to RML hospital for medical check up.
JNU teachers said 10 of their colleagues were beaten up. They said they had gone to attend the proceedings but a group of lawyers started yelling at them saying teachers were also anti-nationals, Rohit Azad, one of the teachers said.
Escalating the row, Shah accused Rahul of supporting "traitors" who shouted anti-India slogans in JNU and asked Sonia to make Congress party's stand clear whether freedom of expression meant supporting country's division.
He also questioned them if it meant supporting Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and such terror attacks and asked Gandhis to apologise to nation if their party is sensitive to the feelings of martyrs' families.
