JNU violence: ABVP releases eight videos, accuses Left-leaning groups of attacking students

The ABVP on Monday accused the Left-leaning student organisations of being involved in the January 5 violence at the JNU campus and released eight videos in support of its claims, demanding a detailed investigation into the matter.

In one of the eight videos of the violence, CPI leader D Raja's daughter Aparajitha is purportedly seen walking with a stick in her hand, ABVP state secretary Siddharth Yadav said.

However, Annie Raja, a CPI leader and mother of Aparajitha, said the ABVP is "spreading lies" to divert the attention from the mass attack on JNU campus.

Yadav said in the videos, Left-wing activists and students are purportedly seen wearing mufflers masking their faces, collecting sticks, rods and other material for the attack.

He claimed that JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and its former joint secretary Amutha Jayadeep were purportedly seen in the videos entering the Periyar hostel with sticks.

"The Delhi Police has already shown the attackers were from the Left groups. We have exposed the Left wingers, communists who pre-planned this attack. I want to name a prominent name here and that is CPI leader D Raja's daughter Aparajitha. In one video, we have found her with the attackers walking with a stick in her hand and after a few steps of her walk, the stick from her hand fell down," he alleged.

At a press conference here, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claimed that students from Left-leaning groups have been attacking others since October 28, 2019.

Denying all the accusations, Annie Raja said, "If they have any proofs against anyone, they should submit it to the Delhi Police. They are spreading lies to divert the attention from the crimes of their (ABVP) mass attack on JNU campus. They still have not been able to collect any evidence against Kanhaiya Kumar?"

"We had a march at that time and we were walking. When the stones started being pelted, me and Aparajitha (Raja) saw that students were scared and started running. One of the students had picked up a stick in self-defence and I had snatched the stick from him and thrown it away," she added.

The ABVP state secretary said Shubhkerti, Valentina and Shambhavi Jha were among the JNU students who were beaten up by the attackers in front of the Periyar hostel.

He also named students who were allegedly involved in vandalising the server room at JNU.

"The ABVP activists have been attacked in Periyar, Mahi Mandvi and Sabarmati hostels. They have had held teachers captive, forcefully made hostel warden resign, vandalised Swami Vivekanand's statue in the university, thrashed people and forcibly made students quit exams," Yadav claimed.

"The issue is that these attackers want to disrupt all education activities in JNU for six months. When education activities will stop, their narrative that the youth has left colleges to protest on road, suffering with unemployment, and are suffering and being mistreated in this country will succeed. If students go to classrooms, how will they get support of crowd? They are even thrashing students who want to study and give exams," he added.

Reacting to the allegations levelled by the ABVP, former JNUSU joint secretary Jayadeep said the RSS-affiliated student organisation is trying to build a narrative about it being a clash.

"I cautioned them against countering force by force. The ABVP is trying to character assassinate somebody. They have no evidence that they were beaten up. What are they trying to prove by showing an eight-second video? The ABVP is trying to build a narrative about it being a clash and the January 5 incident was a one-sided attack by them," Jayadeep added.

Talking about two ABVP members -- Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bhardwaj -- who have been named as suspects by the Delhi Police in the January 5 violence, Yadav said their involvement should be investigated.

"We were the first ones to probe on that group before police. The Delhi Police has found one of them as a WhatsApp group admin and another in a picture with a stick. We want a detailed investigation of that photo. As far as the WhatsApp group is concerned, we ourselves want a proper investigation. We want to know when he left the group and who all participated and messaged in the group," he said.

Countering the Left groups' claim that injured students couldn't have been attackers, the ABVP state secretary asked if Left-wing students were the only victims, how did 11 ABVP members land in trauma centre of AIIMS?

ABVP leader Nidhi Tripathi said, "Today, JNU faces disgrace because of those who indulged in Naxalism on the campus. It faces disgrace because of those who shouted slogans in support of fragmenting the country at the Sabarmati dhaba on February 9, 2016. Students like us have to bow our heads in shame because of them."