ABVP members raised anti-India slogans: AAP submits video clip proof to police
ABVP counters charges, says clips were morphed, attempt being made to defame organisation.
JNU students stand in solidarity with Kanhaiya. (Express Photo Praveen Khanna)
Defending Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, the AAP Monday submitted two video clips that purportedly show the “real culprits behind the unrest in JNU”. According to the AAP, the two clips allegedly show members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) shouting anti-India slogans.
Countering the allegations, the ABVP too approached police Monday with a complaint stating that the videos were “morphed” in an attempt to defame the organisation.
Senior AAP leaders Ashutosh and Dilip Pandey met Special Commissioner (Law & Order) Deepak Mishra and demanded action against those seen in the video clips. “We are disturbed by the fact that police arrested the JNUSU president without any evidence against him. The two video clips which we are submitting to you cast a very serious doubt on the role of ABVP in the entire incident and it must be thoroughly probed. Those seen raising anti-India slogans in these clips must be immediately identified and arrested,” the AAP letter to the police read.
One of the videos shows people allegedly shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, who AAP claimed were affiliated to the ABVP.
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JNU ABVP President Aalok Singh, who was present on campus during that protest, told The Indian Express, “There are some ABVP members in the video, and some students who support our cause but are not members. At that point, the ABVP was shouting slogans such as ‘Bharatiya Court Zindabad’ and ‘Indian Army Zindabad’. We did this to counter anti-national slogans being raised at the same time.”
According to the ABVP, three students – Bhaskar Jyoti, Shruti Agnihotri and Aditya Kumar – submitted a written complaint at the Vasant Kunj police station. They stated that “the video is morphed” and “is a clear attempt of defamation”.
“The video should be checked forensically. Real traitors shouting anti-India slogans should be identified. This is a clear attempt of defamation,” said Singh.
The Delhi Police had registered a suo motu FIR February 9 after students’ groups clashed on campus during a protest against Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging. The next day, east Delhi BJP MP Maheish Girri wrote to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, HRD Minster Smriti Irani and Police Commissioner
B S Bassi, seeking action against “anti-national and anti-constitutional” activities in JNU.
The suo motu FIR by Inspector Virender Singh stated, “On February 10, Zee News aired a clipping that shows students shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.” According to the FIR, after seeing this clip, the inspector requested the channel for a copy of the clip, which was given to the police on February 11.
According to AAP, the decision to book Kumar on charges of sedition was not based on law. “It appears to have been done under pressure from the Centre. Police may find it difficult to pass the judicial scrutiny of its questionable move. The AAP demands a fair investigation. Those who have raised anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans must be punished in accordance with the law but police must prove its credibility by not victimising innocent students and teachers of the JNU,” the statement read.
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