Umar Khalid attack: Kanhaiya questions Delhi's law and order ahead of I-Day

Kanhaiya also said it is the democratic right of a common citizen to be given security if they are facing a threat to life

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumarcalled the attack on fellow student Umar Khalid an attempt to "stop us from reaching out to the masses" to educate them about the current political agenda.

An unidentified man targeted the JNU student leader outside the Constitution Club and gunshots were heard but Khalid escaped unhurt, according to witnesses even as the police asserted it would verify the incident.

He also raised questions on the law and order situation in the national capital since the attack happened a couple of days before Independence Day.

ALSO READ: JNU student leader Umar Khalid allegedly shot at in Delhi; escapes unhurt

"August 15 is Independence Day and just two days before it, there is a deadly attack on a man in a high-security zone. This raises serious questions on the law and order situation," Kumar told PTI.

Khalid had gone to participate in an event when the attack took place.

"He had gone to an event which was about gaining freedom from fear. The attack was an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear. The incident shows that certain people are scared of those who talk about rights and justice," he said.

He also said it is the democratic right of a common citizen to be given security if they are facing a threat to life.

"Unfortunately, the government is protecting those who have mob lynch mentality. Those who raise their voices are not being protected," he said.

He said that they are "against intolerance" and will keep putting their views across and putting pressure on the government.

"A specific type of political agenda is being played out and there is an attempt to break those who talk about democracy and believe in non-violence. The social fabric is breaking and people should be told about it. Incidents like these are attempts to stop us from reaching out to common people," he said.

No coercive steps against Umar Khalid till Friday, HC tells JNU

The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained the Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) from taking any coercive steps against the student-activist Umar Khalid till Friday.

"JNU shall not take any coercive action against the petitioner (Khalid)," Justice Siddharth Mridul said and listed the matter for Friday for further hearing.

Khalid was rusticated and fined by a university panel in connection with a 2016 incident when anti-India slogans were allegedly raised at an event.

Justice Siddharth Mridul's order came while hearing Khalid's plea challenging the university's order which has imposed a fine against him.

The court also issued notice to JNU and others and sought the response on the student's plea.

Khalid's advocate told the court that former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar has also approached the court and his matter is listed for Friday for further hearing.

Kumar in his plea has sought quashing of the order passed by JNU through its Chief Proctor on July 4.

JNU on July 4's order held Kumar and others guilty under clause of Discipline and Proper Conduct of Students of JNU and fined them.

The order has been issued based on the report by a high-level enquiry committee that was set up on February 11, 2016.

An enquiry found student-activist Umar Khalid, along with Kumar and Anirban Bhattacharya, guilty in the February 2016 episode in which a group of young men allegedly raised "anti-national" slogans.

It had also recommended rustication of Umar Khalid apart from imposing financial penalty on 13 other students for violation of disciplinary norms.

Kumar, a member of the Communist Party of India's student wing, was the President of the varsity's student union that year.

The three were accused -- though none yet chargesheeted by police -- of raising slogans against the integrity of India during a poetry-reading gathering of students at Sabarmati Dhaba inside the JNU campus on February 9, 2016.

Article Source : BS

JNU row: Sting shows lawyers' plan to thrash Kanhaiya Kumar in jail

In a sting operation conducted by a news channel on two of the three lawyers wanted for alleged assault on journalists, students and teachers of JNU at a court here last week, the perpetrators purportedly claimed that they planned to thrash JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in prison too.

In the video broadcast on the English news channel this evening, the lawyers can be seen claiming that they also thrashed Kanhaiya for around three hours while he was in police custody and said he wet his pants during the beating.

Kanhaiya Kumar might not have raised anti-national slogans: Security agencies

JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested on sedition charges, may not have raised anti-national slogans or made an inflammatory speech at the JNU event which is at the center of a raging controversy, according to inputs from security agencies.

Home Ministry officials have suggested that slapping of the serious charge of sedition against Kumar could be an act of "over enthusiasm" on the part of some Delhi Police officers.