JNU Violence: Former JNU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Kumar Sopory on Saturday opened up on crisis that has hit Jawaharlal Nehru University. He said that the recent violence inside the university campus was disheartening and such situations occur because of mistrust. “I have had experience of working at JNU for over 25 years. The recent incidents of violence at the campus are very disheartening. Such situations occur because of mistrust and it’s the lack of communication that decreases trust level,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Sopory further said that the administration should take the initiative to talk to students. “When I was there, my doors were always open. I always had a diary of the demands of the students. For demands which could be fulfilled, measures were taken accordingly,” the former V-C said. His remarks came almost a week after some masked men attacked teachers and students with rods and sticks inside the campus. Student bodies, primarily Left and ABVP, blamed each other for the clash in which over 30 students sustained injuries.
According to reports, the clashes took between members of the Left and ABVP. The Left student body had been protesting against the fee hike and demanded complete roll-back. When they felt that the administration was not addressing their grievances, the protesters allegedly tried to block the registration process for the winter session by damaging the server room. Reports suggest that some students were trying to register for the winter session and when they were blocked by the protesting Left students, clashes erupted.
On Friday, Delhi Police informed that they have identified nine students suspected to be involved in the violence — seven are from Left and two are from ABVP. JNU Students Union President Aishe Ghosh is among nine identified by the police.