The unprovoked violence unleashed by the Delhi Police on students and teachers of the Delhi University on the eve of the DUSU Elections has drawn attention to the condemnable disregard of human and democratic rights in the university campus. While students and teachers had gathered outside the VC’s official residence today to protest against the administration’s indifference and the police violence inflicted on students participating in an indefinite hunger strike last night, the Delhi Police ACP Anil Kumar ordered an assault on students and teachers alike. Women teachers were physically assaulted and molested by male constables. A student was picked up for raising slogans against the Vice Chancellor and dragged inside a police jeep which drove him away to an undisclosed location for detention.
The Delhi Police had been acting as the Vice Chancellor’s personal bouncers throughout the day. The Vice Chancellor, on the other hand, did not even extend the basic courtesy to meet the students sitting on hunger strike (for 11 days now) or have any dialogue with the protesting teachers and students. There is reason to believe that these atrocities have been carried out at the VC’s behest. In his tenure, Delhi University has erupted in sporadic incidents of violence against teachers and students and the democratic right to protest against the frequently unreasonable stands of the administration has been repeatedly crushed. The DUTA notes that a situation of virtual Emergency prevails in the University campus today, and squarely holds the VC’s high-handedness responsible for this mess.
In another shocking incident, a teacher and renowned civil rights activist, Dr. G N Saibaba has been placed under house arrest at his residence in the Delhi University campus by the Maharashtra Police on the flimsiest grounds. Alleging that his residence was being used to house stolen property, the police insisted on conducting a raid in the absence of his lawyer or any colleague. Despite his 90% disability (Dr. Saibaba suffers from childhood polio), the police chose to severe all his communication links and confiscated his mobile phone, laptop, pen drives and computer hard disk. The police harassed him and his family relentlessly for hours and was not able to justify the raid eventually. The DUTA is amazed that the University has allowed the police to disregard all norms and trample upon personal rights of an individual. The DUTA condemns the University administration for entirely abdicating its responsibility to secure the safety of its teachers and students. The DUTA strongly reiterates its demand for the immediate removal of the Vice Chancellor who has continued to intimidate all stakeholders into silent submission over his skewed agenda and misgovernance.
Nandita Narain
(President, DUTA)
https://duta.live
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