Hours after the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) poll results were announced, the newly elected JNUSU president N Sai Balaji was attacked by members of the RSS and BJP-affiliated student organisation Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Sunday.
Balaji alleged that police refused to file an FIR when he approached the Vasant Kunj police station to report the incident.
Later, he posted two videos on his Facebook account and said that even the Police Control Room (PCR) van, in which he was seeking protection, was also stopped by the ABVP members with the intent of attacking him.
He also narrated the entire incident in another Facebook post.
He wrote:
“Today ABVP students randomly attacked students.I was called to the scene at Sutjel. As elected JNUSU President I went to ensure Pawan Meena’s safety who was attacked by ABVP students with sticks. Upon reaching what I saw was mayhem. The mob led by Saurabh Sharma was baiting for blood of any student they thought a friend of Pawan Meena and were attacking students with sticks.
They openly threatened me, Geeta and other students present there with dire consequences if we intervened to stop the violence. The group now turned into a Mob and started attacking Abhinay a former JNU student in Jhelum and chased him and almost lynched him in the lawns. I ran with other students to save Abhinay who by then had fallen unconscious after the beating and took him to the ambulance and sent him for medical aid.
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What happened next was terrifying. I was again threatened by the mob and fearing my safety some students asked me to sit inside the PCR vehicle. However the mob led by Ashutosh Mishra and Saurab Sharma stopped the PCR vehicle and got a ABVP student to sit beside me. These two students were repeatedly stopping the PCR and threatening me. To my surprise Saurabh Sharma stopped the PCR between Jhelum and Sutlej and the ABVP student sitting inside the PCR van opened the door. Upon opening more threats were given to me and I was physically assualted inside the PCR van by ABVP students outside.
I was shocked and fearing my safety I asked the PCR to take me to Vasant kunj PS. My health deteriorated and I came back to my hostel to take medication. Now I will be going to PS to lodge the complaint.”
The Left-backed AISA, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) and All India Students’ Federation (AISF) came together to form the ‘United Left’ alliance and defeated the ABVP by winning all four central panel posts by large margins.