Masked assailants attack leads to students protest across India

New Delhi – Students in several major Indian cities protested on Monday after students and teachers at Jawaharlal Nehru University were attacked by masked assailants.

At least 35 students and some teachers were injured after masked men wielding rods and sticks went on a rampage on the campus and vandalised property on Sunday night.

Tensions have been running high between the JNU Students’ Union, led by left-wing groups, and the right-wing students’ group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, linked with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, because of a dispute about a hike in university hostel fees.

The student groups blamed each other for the Sunday night attacks, saying the masked goons were brought in to target their members.

Hundreds of students from educational institutions across Mumbai began to gather at the Gateway of India starting at midnight on Sunday (1830 GMT Sunday).

They were protesting what they claimed was a crackdown by the government on dissenting left-wing student organisations.

Similar protests were reported from Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, where demonstrators condemned police inaction and demanded the government take action against the assailants.

Police maintained Sunday’s violence was the result of a conflict between student bodies.

Police officer Devender Arya, said it had begun a probe and identified some of the masked assailants, but no arrests were made yet.

Opposition lawmakers and senior government ministers have condemned the violence at the university, reputed to be among India’s premier universities.

Federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said pictures of the violence were horrifying and asserted that the government wanted universities to be safe spaces for students. (dpa/NAN)

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