All 14 arrested for JNUSU march granted bail

New Delhi: Police on Friday arrested 14 people, including office bearers of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) in connection with a protest the union held a day earlier that allegedly turned violent. They were later granted bail.Among the arrested were Nitish Kumar, a former JNUSU president, Aditi Mishra, the current union president, Gopika Babu, its vice-president, and Danish Ali, the student body's joint secretary.
Police said around 25 personnel were injured during the protest and 51 people were detained on Thursday.The JNUSU attempted to take out a march from the university campus to the education ministry to protest against the alleged casteist remarks by vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.Police have registered an FIR under Sections 221 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions), 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter a public servant from duty), 132 (assault), and 3(5) (common intention) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).They said the march, called by the JNUSU, turned violent after participants attempted to move out of the campus despite being denied permission to do so. "The JNU administration had already told the organisers that no permission had been granted for such a protest outside the campus, and they were advised to restrict themselves to the university premises," DCP (southwest) Amit Goel said.Despite repeated requests to not proceed beyond the campus, around 400-500 students gathered at the main gate around 3.20 pm to march towards the ministry, police said. They allegedly damaged barricades installed at the site. A senior police officer said that some protesters turned aggressive. "They threw banners, sticks and shoes at police personnel, and even resorted to assault," DCP Goel said. Some protesters bit the police personnel, the officer said.The bail order on Friday said that about 27 police officers were injured. "Assaulting police officers on duty is a serious concern which cannot be permitted in the garb of peaceful protest," the bail order said. "However, it cannot be ignored that the offences... are punishable with a maximum imprisonment of five years only. The accused persons are students and are not habitual offenders. They have their entire career lying ahead. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances, the accused persons are admitted to bail in the sum of Rs 25,000," the order added.The bail was given on the condition that the 14 people will not induce or threaten any person acquainted with the case, and must refrain from committing any offence while on bail. They have to provide correct permanent and residential addresses, along with an active mobile number, in their bail bonds, and promptly inform the court of changes. They must appear before the court for every hearing and are prohibited from leaving the country without permission.In a counter-protest on Friday, a faculty member at JNU began an indefinite hunger strike on campus against JNUSU and the JNU Teachers' Association. Christhu Doss, a faculty member at the School of Social Sciences, and other teachers demanded that the two bodies address alleged incidents of vandalism, hooliganism and the locking down of schools that disrupted regular classes during the demonstrations led by JNUSU. Doss announced a fast-unto-death, stating that the protest will continue until classes are fully restored.