Aligarh Muslim University alumni in Delhi demand judicial enquiry into the attack on AMU by miscreants
New Delhi: The alumni of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and members of civil society staged a protest near Mandi House here on Sunday, demanding a judicial enquiry into the attack on AMU by
miscreants of right-wing Hindu outfits on May 2.
The protest was organised by the Delhi chapter of AMU Old Boys’ Association (AMUOBA), which called for stern action against the miscreants as well as the cops who lathi-charged the students protesting the police inaction. More than a dozen students were seriously injured in the brutal lathi-charge.
Some 30-35 hoodlums, accompanied by 2-3 policemen, had entered the AMU campus brandishing weapons and shouting provocative slogans, thereby leading to an extremely volatile situation. In addition, they tried to
reach the guesthouse where former vice-president Hamid Ansari was staying, but were held by the students.
Some six or seven of the rogues were handed over to the police who let them off before even reaching the police station, clearly exposing the complicity of the police in what appears to be a coordinated and politically motivated attack on the university.
In a letter to the AMU students’ union president on Saturday, Ansari called the peaceful protest by students against the transgression commendable and said that their demand for action against the intruders, after a judicial enquiry, is justified.
Furthermore, he said that the disruptions by intruders and anti-social elements raise questions because of their ‘precise timing’ and the ‘excuse manufactured for justifying it’. Ansari was in AMU for an
award function that was later cancelled owing to the disruptions.
Irshad Ahmad, president of AMUOBA, Delhi said that the alumni body expresses full solidarity with the protesting students of AMU. “The attack on AMU fits in the pattern of recurring attacks on educational institutions by the foot soldiers of the ruling party. It’s time that we put a full stop to these attacks,” he said, adding that the false cases slapped against AMU students during the incident be withdrawn.
Another protester, Gyan Prakash, said that the AMU incident has put a big question mark on the rule of law in the state. “The issue is simple. Goons enter the university as part of a conspiracy and disturb peace in the campus with brazen complicity of the police. We just want action against those involved,” aid Prakash, an AMU alumnus and advocate at the Supreme Court of India.
The protests were joined by a large number of students and faculty from University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Jamia Millia Islamia, among other universities. Among the prominent faces were Ex Indian Hockey Captain Zafar Iqbal and other member of civil society.