JNU Students Allege Assault, Casteist and Islamophobic Abuse Amid Police Crackdown During Protest

New Delhi, October 20 – A student protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on October 18 took a violent turn, with students alleging that they were assaulted, abused, and unlawfully detained by Delhi Police following a confrontation involving members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The protest was organised in response to a violent clash a day earlier during the School of Social Sciences (SSS) General Body Meeting (GBM), part of a series of student meetings ahead of the upcoming JNUSU elections. According to student leaders, ABVP members disrupted the GBM, assaulted JNUSU President Nitish Kumar, and hurled casteist and Islamophobic slurs at several participants.

JNUSU General Secretary Munteha Fatima was among those targeted. She, along with others, was reportedly called an “ISI agent,” while some Dalit students were abused with remarks like “Reservation leke aya hai.”

In protest, JNUSU called for a student march from Sabarmati T-point to the Paschimabad Gate, and then to the police station to file an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, as students approached the gate, they were met with heavy police presence and barricades.

Students claim the situation escalated when they tried to move past the barricades. “There was complete chaos. People in civilian clothes began beating students and forcing them into vans. It was hard to even tell who was police and who wasn’t,” said a postgraduate student from the Centre for the Study of Social Systems.

Eyewitnesses say both male and female students were dragged, punched, and beaten. One student recounted how his glasses were broken after being punched in the face. “They weren’t just detaining us. They were physically assaulting us,” he said.

Several students were injured and taken to Safdarjung Hospital. Some reported insensitive remarks from hospital staff. “One doctor told us, ‘This is what should happen to JNU students,’” said a protester.

Female students said they were manhandled in the absence of any visible female officers in uniform. Nine women were reportedly detained after 6 PM, which is a violation of legal procedures regarding the arrest of female individuals. “A man tried to stop me from leaving the police van by using his leg,” one of the detained women said.

In total, 28 students were taken to Kapashera Police Station, including JNUSU office bearers — President Nitish Kumar, Vice President Manisha, and General Secretary Munteha Fatima. All were released later that night following negotiations led by lawyers and fellow students.

In a video statement from the police station, JNUSU President Nitish Kumar said, “We called the police for help after the ABVP attack during the GBM, but they did nothing. Now, when we try to file a complaint, we are the ones being assaulted and detained.”

Student groups across JNU, including AISA, SFI, BAPSA, Fraternity Movement, MSF, and AISF, condemned the violence and demanded immediate legal action against the perpetrators. They also called out what they described as a “nexus” between the ABVP, Delhi Police, and right-wing forces attempting to intimidate the student community.

Six students- Nitish Kumar, Manisha, Munteha Fatima, Manikant Patel, Briti Kar, and Saurya Majumdar have reportedly been named in FIRs. Delhi Police stated that “appropriate legal action” is underway and confirmed that six FIRs have been filed in connection with the incidents.

The JNU Teachers’ Association and human rights lawyers have also expressed concern over the use of force against students and the alleged mishandling of the situation by law enforcement.