A scuffle broke out in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here on Monday between a group of students and members of security staff, after the former gathered at the finance office demanding the release of fellowships. The students, who were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), accused the administration of carrying out an attack on them while the administration held students responsible for the incident. The ABVP claimed that 12 students, including its JNU unit president Rohit Kumar, suffered injuries. A senior police officer said the students of JNU have filed five complaints against two security officers Naveen Yadav and Surya Prakash. “We have received the complaints and are looking into the matter,” he said. Meanwhile, the varsity said two security guards were beaten up mercilessly by the students, adding that strict action will be taken against those who are found guilty of disrupting the academic environment. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Manoj C, a few JNU students were demanding for distribution of scholarships for students which were pending for the last two years. “Students staged a protest at the administration office. When the guards of JNU security tried to remove protesting students, a scuffle broke out between the students and guards on duty,” the DCP said. In an elaborate statement, JNU Registrar Ravikesh accused the students of barging into the Students and Project Section of the university and confining the staff to their seats only and stopping the exit and entry. “At 10.30 am around 15 students barged into the students’ & project section of the university confining the staff to their seats only. Three senior officers of the university were rushed to the section to know the contention of these students so as to resolve the matter. But they totally refused for any dialogue,” the statement read. “As it was almost 1 pm and the staff were still confined in the section. Some officers were sent again to the section to appeal to these students to allow the staff to have their lunch but to no avail. These students were misbehaving with the staff, including lady staff present in the section,” the statement added.
