JNU violence: Fringe group emerges to claim responsibility, Delhi Police probe ongoing

The right-wing group Hindu Raksha Dal claimed responsibility for the Sunday night violence inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, wherein masked goons armed with sticks and rods attacked students, teachers, and vandalised property. Dubbing JNU as a hot-bed for 'anti-national activities'; the Hindu Raksha Dal leader further vowed to repeat their actions if necessary.  

In a video doing the rounds of social media said, "JNU is a hot-bed of anti-national activities, we can't tolerate this. They live in our country, they eat in our country, get their education here and then engage in anti-national activities, Hindu Raksha Dal will not tolerate. In the future, too, we will take the same action if one tries to indulge in anti-national activities in other universities. We claim full responsibility. JNU is a hub of communists and we won’t tolerate such hubs". 

Reiterating his statement, the Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinky Choudhary said, "Since the beginning, we are ready to give up our lives for our religion. Hindu Raksha Dal, Bhupendra Tomar, and Pinky Choudhary take responsibility for the JNU violence. They were all our members. They abuse our religion and our country. Their attitude towards our religion is anti-national."

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Back in 2014, Hindu Raksha Dal was arrested for attacking and vandalising the office of the Aam Aadmi Party. Around 40 activists of Hindu Raksha Dal broke flower pots kept outside the AAP’s office and tore party posters. Some glass doors were also smashed in the attack. Pinky Choudhary had alleged that another AAP leader had made remarks against Hindu Gods which was not acceptable to them.

JNU violence probe

According to ANI sources, the claims made by Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinky Chaudhary are being investigated. The Delhi Police have initiated a probe in the violence of Sunday evening, wherein both RSS-affiliated ABVP and Left-inclining JNUSU have accused each other. On Tuesday, Republic sources informed that the Delhi Police will be using a face recognition system to probe the matter further, by acquiring the video footage. 

After being accused to be mute spectators during the violence, Delhi Police PRO MS Randhawa, on Monday, briefed the media saying that the Crime branch will be investigating the incident. He stated that the police received a call at 5 PM about a scuffle between students and they responded immediately.  Narrating the sequence of events, he said that the Delhi police which could be deployed only in the Admin block could not enter the area of the scuffle which was mainly in the hostels.

On Sunday night, Delhi Police filed its first report detailing the incident and stated that 'outsiders in masks' were responsible. They said the scuffle between the Left-wing and right-wing students escalated post-noon on Sunday. They added that 'masked outsiders' entered hostel at 5 PM and attacked students, faculty and damaged property. On being called by the JNU administration, Delhi police entered the campus. 

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