Delhi Police detained students protesting at Jamia Millia Islamia on Saturday, demanding the restoration of the university’s student union. The detained students were taken to Jamia Nagar Police Station, where they remained in custody even after sunset, triggering questions and a confrontation between police personnel, social activists and political representatives.
According to Millat Times, police initially detained students participating in the demonstration. As the evening progressed, concerns were raised over the continued detention of the protesters.
Police subsequently released the female students, but the male students were reportedly kept inside a police van and were not allowed to get out.
The situation intensified when attempts were reportedly made to move the detained male students from the location. Several social activists and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Delhi president Shoaib Jamei intervened and questioned the police over their handling of the detained students.
An argument broke out between the activists and police personnel, with those present demanding the release of the remaining students. The confrontation continued for some time as the activists and female students gathered in front of the police vehicle, preventing it from moving forward, Millat Times reported.
The gathering put further pressure on the police to address the detention of the protesters. Those present continued to question why the male students were still being held after the female students had been released.
Following the prolonged exchange, Delhi Police eventually released all the detained students. The incident brought renewed attention to the students’ demand for the restoration of the student union at Jamia Millia Islamia, a long-standing issue concerning student representation and campus democracy.
The demonstration comes amid continued demands from sections of the university’s student community for a representative student body through which students can raise concerns about campus administration, academic issues and other matters affecting university life.
A university official said Jamia already had a mechanism through which every department and centre had three elected student representatives who could raise students’ concerns. The official said the administration was not opposed to the demand for a…
“How can we start the process if no memorandum has been submitted? No committee can be formed,” the official said.
The official said one student had been rusticated for a year and barred from entering the campus, with the provision to appeal against the decision.
Two other students had been barred from the campus for six months, with their cases to be reviewed by the disciplinary committee, the official added.
The incident also raises questions about the handling of student protests and the importance of ensuring that peaceful demonstrations and demands for student representation are addressed in accordance with the law.
The release of all the detained students brought the immediate standoff to an end, but the demand for the restoration of the student union remains at the centre of the students’ concerns.
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