In the wake of a scuffle that broke out among two student groups on the occasion of Ram Navami over an alleged non-veg food issue on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi, a case was registered against unknown students of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the early morning on Monday, said city police, while as many as 48 young men and 22 women members of the ultra-left All India Students Association (AISA) were detained when they gathered on Jai Singh Road as Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was in force in the area.
As many as six persons suffered minor injuries in the scuffle after which they were shifted to the hospital. The police said that they received a complaint from
students who are members of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, Students’ Federation of India, Democratic Students’ Federation and All India Students Association in the early hours of Monday, following which the police have lodged an FIR under Section -323/341/509/506/34 IPC.
“We received a complaint from a group of students who are members of JNUSU, SFI,DSF and AISA early morning of 11/4/22 against unknown ABVP students, accordingly we have a registered an FIR under section -323/341/509/506/34 IPC. Further investigation is on to collect factual/ scientific evidence and identify the culprits,” said the police.
The police, however, added that the ABVP students have intimated that they will be giving the complaint today morning, after which “necessary appropriate legal action will be taken.”
Earlier, a student union said some ABVP members allegedly tried to stop non-vegetarian food from being cooked, on the other hand, the ABVP claims that “Left” students tried to disrupt Ram Navami pooja.
Meanwhile, the ABVP also accused the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Left-backed students of preventing them from worshipping on Ram Navami. “Left and NSUI workers created a ruckus during pooja in the university on the occasion of Ram Navami. There is no angle of non-veg. They have a problem with programs on the occasion of Ram Navami,” said Rohit Kumar, ABVP’s JNU wing president.
Meanwhile, a report from Bhopal said hours after a curfew was imposed in Khargone city in Madhya Pradesh after a scuffle broke out during the Ram Navami procession, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the incident “unfortunate” and said the damages caused to public and private assets will be recovered from rioters. Chouhan said, “The incident in Khargone on the occasion of Ram Navmi is unfortunate. There is no place for rioters on the soil of Madhya Pradesh. These rioters have been identified. Strictest action will be taken against them.” Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the incident “unfortunate” and said the damages caused to public and private properties will be recovered from rioters. “In Madhya Pradesh, we have passed the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property and Recovery of Damage Bill. The rioters of Khargone will not only be punished but also the damages will be recovered from them. The state government is setting up a claims tribunal for this,” Chouhan said. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Monday lauded the efforts of Madhya Pradesh Police to prevent miscreants from hatching a big conspiracy, hours after a curfew was imposed in Khargone city as violence occurred during the Ram Navami procession.
A report from Kolkata said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday alleged that a Ram Navami procession was attacked by policemen in the Howrah district. Taking to Twitter, Adhikari said that some people got injured in the incident. “In the Shivpur area of Howrah district, Ram devotees took out a procession and the constable and police officer thrashed them with sticks. Some people got seriously injured,” Adhikari tweeted. He further asked, “Is following Sanatan Dharma prohibited in this state? @HMOIndia @jdhankhar1@HomeBengalDGP @WBPolice.” In a series of tweets, Adhikari shared a number of videos and images of the incident that took place in Howrah. Meanwhile, Union Minister Dr Subhash Sarkar said that stones were pelted on a Ram Navami procession and also at his car in Bankura. “Stones were pelted on the Ram Navami procession in Bankura. It was done politically. They pelted stones at my car. I appeal to the police to identify and arrest the accused,” he said.
A report from Siliguri said setting an example of communal harmony, Muslim youths distributed water bottles and hugged participants of the Ram Navami procession on Sunday in Siliguri, West Bengal. The people who were part of the procession welcomed the distribution of bottles and thanked the Muslim youths for the gesture. Shahnewaz Hussein, who volunteered to distribute water bottles, said, “We took the decision to distribute the bottles to foster affection among the people of different communities. We distributed more than 4,000 water bottles in the procession.” He said that the Muslim youths organised a small camp on the occasion of Ram Navami. “We decided to distribute water bottles since the people taking part in the procession were coming from long distances,” Hussein said.
A report from Udupi quoted Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai as saying that the government will not tolerate violence. “I may not be speaking but my actions are speaking. In fact, we should not speak but our actions should speak. We have been taking all necessary decisions and actions at the appropriate time. We need not learn from Siddaramaiah about our functioning,” Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said. Bommai was reacting to the criticisms of the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka assembly. Siddaramaiah has been accusing the chief minister of not acting efficiently to maintain law and order in the state. To a query of media persons in this regard, the CM said at the helipad in Adi Udupi on Monday that the Congress had dropped many murder cases registered against members of certain organizations in the state through their government: “Where was their duty consciousness when they dropped murder cases? We know how to maintain law and order in our state, which always upholds peace and harmony. Ours is a pro-development state. We know very well how to maintain these standards and we have been doing it efficiently.”