Published 10:10 IST, February 17th 2020
Sibal slams Centre and Delhi police over CCTV footages of police action from Jamia library
Slamming the Centre, the Delhi police, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Monday, connected the dots leading to the Jamia violence on December 15, 2019
- India News
- 3 min read
Slamming the Centre, the Delhi police, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Monday, connected the dots leading to the Jamia violence. He alleged that when policemen hide the truth, no dialogue with the youth and leaders give inflammatory speeches, democracy weakens in its roots. Slamming the Centre for not engaging with the youth who were protesting, he said that the incident was a result of it.
Sibal slams Centre and police over Jamia violence
Police brutality in Jamia University
Jamia co-ordination committee on Saturday shared a video of police officers hitting students in the library of the Jamia Millia Islamia University on 15 December 2019. The video - which is a CCTV footage of the first-floor reading hall in the university, shows police dressed in full riot gear hitting those gathered in the library. While the BJP has claimed that the footage is fake, other political parties have condemned the excessive police action.
Soon, another video emerged from the same library, prior to the Delhi police and paramilitary forces entered the library. The new video shows students assembled in the library when masked men suddenly enter the library and then students help to barricade the entrance of the library. The video also shows a person gesturing the assembled crowd (students and masked men) to move inside away from the door, while one of the students is seen carrying stones in his hand. Jamia university has distanced itself from the videos.
What happened at Jamia University?
On December 15, the university witnessed violent clashes after students were stopped from marching to the parliament protesting the Citizenship Act. While students stated that police resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas, the police have claimed that they were forced to do so after students refused to stop their march when requested. Police claimed that students broke barricades and indulged in stone-pelting at police personnel, causing injuries to 12 policemen. Over 100 students have been injured with one student losing an eye. Police also claim that some protestors who were vandalising public property had resorted to stone-pelting and had rushed into the university, triggering police entry into the campus.
Updated 10:10 IST, February 17th 2020