Jamia has two library buildings — new and old. In both, it was primarily the reading room that was open since it was a Sunday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Shattered glass from windows and doors; remains of teargas shells; blood drops on the floor; CCTVs smashed; notebooks left mid-sentence — Jamia Millia Islamia’s library premises Monday stood testimony to police action a day earlier.
Jamia has two library buildings — new and old. In both, it was primarily the reading room that was open since it was a Sunday. Students, staff and guards said the calm broke around 6:30 pm. “I had come after reading namaz. At 6:30 pm, police entered the reading room and started breaking tables and hitting students with lathis. Teargas was thrown. I tried to run but there was no place to hide. When I was helping my friend, I got hit on my hand,” said Sahil Rabbani, a student. Rabbani ran leaving behind his notebook and course material.
The two doors police allegedly entered from lay shattered; as was the main door to the building. Just before the reading room, the glass cover of the book case showcasing ‘new arrivals’ was also broken.
Best of Express Premium
One of the windows, half broken, had several clothes, ostensibly stuck as students tried to escape.
“Students were trapped in tear gas smoke since police had closed the doors behind them. With nowhere to go, they tried to break windows and escape, during which they received injuries and their clothes tore,” said an official.
Students, staff and guards said the calm broke around 6:30 pm Sunday. (Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Adnan, a library staffer, said students ran up the stairs to the first floor after sustaining injuries to escape police action, since the area was closed Sunday. Blood on the floor indicated that someone had been there.
At the old building, main doors and windows were smashed and papers were strewn everywhere. Two CCTV cameras and a broken lathi remained on the ground floor reading room. On a chair on the second floor were bloodstained tissues.
“Students were trapped in tear gas smoke since police had closed the doors behind them. With nowhere to go, they tried to break windows and escape, during which they received injuries and their clothes tore,” said an official. (Express photo: Tashi Tobgyal)
Mohd Usman, a library staffer, said they found 50-60 students holed up after the police raid. “There were 11 students hiding in toilets, nine in the new building and two in the old building. Four of them were girls. Two were not able to walk; they were in a bad condition. We just put them into ambulances,” he said.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
