New Delhi: Students and activists staged a protest at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty on Friday against the alleged harassment of students during a fest at Indraprastha College for Women and alleged that they were manhandled and detained by police.
A police official, however, said those protesting were peacefully detained and removed from the area.
The students have alleged that some unidentified men trespassed into the college, shouted slogans and harassed women during the ’Shruti’ festival on Tuesday. They have demanded the resignation of principal Poonam Kumria.
On Friday, the students organised an ”Azadi March” against repeated incidents of harassment at the campus. The march was organised by the Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) and other student organisations such as Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS).
”Students participating in AISA’s Azadi March have been brutally detained. ACP (Civil Lines) Satender Yadav has harassed and manhandled Anjali, AISA DU secretary. AISA will be complaining about the ACP. We demand the immediate termination of Satender Yadav for this brutal crackdown on Delhi University,” said Delhi AISA President Abhigyan.
The students held placards that read, ”Lock up these lumpens, not our hostel’, ’Then Miranda Now IP’, ’Where are women safe-Fight for women’s safety’ and ’Strict action must be taken against the hooligans, police and DU authorities’.
In the videos shared by students on social media, a heavy police deployment could be seen at Arts Faculty and they pushed the students towards the police van.
Following the incident on Tuesday, police registered an FIR under IPC sections 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 188 (disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant) and arrested seven people.
An AISA activist alleged that the men who trespassed the college campus were heard chanting ”Miranda, IP dono hamara (Miranda House and Indraprastha College both are ours)” and ”Miranda nahi chhoda to IP bhi nahi chhodenge (We didn’t leave Miranda, we won’t leave IP either)”.
