Jamia Violence: Delhi Police Arrests 10 People With 'Criminal Background', No University Student Held

The Delhi Police arrested 10 people in connection with the Sunday violence in vicinity of Jamia Millia Islamia university on Tuesday. The clashes sparked massive protests across campuses in India with students demanding rollback of the Citizenship Amendment Act and probe into police brutality. The Delhi Police said that the 10 people, who have been arrested, have criminal background. News Nation has learnt that out of these 10 individuals, three are known as ‘bad characters’ in the area. The police has also distinctively said that no student of the Jamia Millia Islamia university has been arrested. The cops said that the arrests were made after probing the CCTV footages of December 15. The cops further said that more arrests are likely to be made in coming days.

On Sunday, the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act turned violent, which soon engulfed the Jamia campus. Students were dragged out form the central library, thrashed. Though the police have claimed that several videos circulating on social media are unverifiable and some of them present a distorted version of the events that unfolded on Sunday, the Vice Chancellor of the university maintains that the cops stormed the campus and intimidated the students with brutality.

Addressing media on Monday, Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar said that the cops entered the university with the permission from the officials. She also said that the university will file an FIR against the cops for all the damages done inside the campus. Urging restrain and peace, Akhtar also said that the media must not defame Jamia Millia Islamia University. “Don’t target us, our students were not involved,” Akhtar said. “There has been a lot of property damage in the University, how will all this be compensated? There has been an emotional loss as well. Yesterday's incident was unfortunate. I also appeal to everyone to not believe in any kind of rumours,” Akhtar further said.

On Monday, while addressing the media, Delhi Police’s Public Relations Officer MS Randhawa had said that the force used "maximum restraint, minimum force" despite being "provoked" by protesters and did not carry any firearms. "There was no firing, there have been no casualties in the Jamia violence. The crime branch will investigate the violence. Thorough investigation will be done and accountability will be fixed," he said at a press conference. "Four DTC buses, 100 private vehicles and 10 police bikes were damaged during the violence. One policeman is in the ICU," he added. Thirty-nine people were brought to hospital where their medical examination was conducted, the Delhi Police PRO said.