Hundreds of people, including ex-servicemen, under the banner “March for Unity to Save the Country”, participate in a march from Rajghat to Jantar Mantar on Sunday against alleged anti-national activities at JNU. (Photo: Biplab Banerjee)
Kashmiri students studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University are a scared lot after the varsity row over an event where some anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. There are reports that the Delhi police was quietly approaching these students in their rented accommodation where they are currently lodged in and subsequently subjecting them to questioning.
“I woke up to two policemen knocking at my door earlier this week. They asked objectionable questions and also wanted to know whether I was in touch with any of the students they are looking for in connection with the event,” said a female JNU Kashmiri student who resides in south Delhi.
“They asked me whether I was present there on February 9 Why did I attend the programme and much more. They even asked for my passport and other ID proof,” the student added.
The Delhi police, however, did not ask any questions to her roommate, a fellow JNU student but who does not hail from Kashmir.
“They said this is part of the investigation and I should not withhold any information. They, however, did not pose similar questions to my roommate, who is not a Kashmiri,” she said.
A Kashmiri student, who lives in a JNU hostel, said, “Though I have not been approached by the police directly, probably because I am staying inside the campus, the police has gone to my house in Kashmir for some ‘verification’ during which they inquired about my presence in JNU. My parents are now pressurising me to come back.”
The police in Delhi and Kashmir is maintaining silence on the matter and did not wish to come on record about why the forces were quizzing Kashmiri students.
JNU Students’ Union vice-president Shehla Rashid Shora, the first Kashmiri woman to be elected to the JNU students’ body, said, “Fearing a witch-hunt in the aftermath of the event, some students have gone back to their homes in Kashmir till normalcy returns on the campus. I have been told that random checks have been conducted in Malviya Nagar and Munirka, targeting Kashmiri students.
“Some who were not even present on the campus on the day of the event have also switched off their phones. There is a constant atmosphere of fear and intimidation,” Ms Shora said
Not only JNU students, but Jamia Millia Islamia students hailing from Kashmir, too, have faced similar interrogation, she claimed.
