The Special Cell of Delhi Police grilled 30 students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Friday and Saturday for their alleged anti-national sloganeering on campus on 9 February 2016. The students were summoned on Wednesday to join the investigation before the Delhi police files the final chargesheet related to the sedition case involving Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya.
The students had been given three days—27, 28, and 29 April—and had been asked to be present at the administrative block from 12 noon. However, none of the students joined the probe on Thursday. “In the JNU anti-national sloganeering case, the final chargesheet will be filed soon. Besides the names of Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya in the preliminary chargesheet, the Delhi police is likely to include several other names,” a source in the Delhi police said.
Among the 30 students are Shehla Rashid, the former vice-president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), Mohit Kumar Pandey the incumbent JNUSU president, and Aprojitha Raja, daughter of CPI leader and Rajya Sabha MP, D. Raja, among others.
Pandey told The Sunday Guardian: “We have joined the probe. The JNU students are being unnecessarily harassed. After almost 14 months since the JNU row, the Delhi police has started its investigation. The attitude of the police indicates that the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party government is trying to demolish JNU’s reputation and create a false debate over nationalism.”
Madhur Verma, Delhi police PRO, asked The Sunday Guardian to speak to Chinmoy Biswal, DCP South-Delhi. However, Biswal said: “I am not the authority concerned to reply on the JNU case as the matter is with the Crime Branch. PRO Madhur Verma may provide answers on the issue.” Umesh Barthwal, the Delhi police investigation officer in the case denied allegations that police was working under pressure of the Central government.
Then JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar had been booked in the case under sedition law and is presently on bail.