Digvijay among 11 JJP leaders booked for damaging property during Kurukshetra University event

The FIR was registered in connection with the event held by the outfit at the university on April 7 and invokes Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, along with relevant sections of the BNS

Police have booked JJP leader Digvijay Singh Chautala and 11 leaders of the party’s student wing INSO on charges including damage to public property during an event at the Kurukshetra University (KU), officials said on Monday.

The booking was made in the name of an assistant professor. (HT Photo for representation)

The FIR was registered in connection with the event held by the outfit at the university on April 7 and invokes Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, along with relevant sections of the BNS. It says damage was caused to chairs and other public property during the event.

Chautala is among the 11 people named in the FIR, along with Indian National Students Organisation (INSO) leader Jaswinder Khaira and an assistant professor of the university. A few unnamed people have also been accused in the case. The chief security officer of the Kurukshetra University stated in his complaint that a request had been received on April 2 for booking a hall for an April 7 programme related to drug abuse and the role of youth in countering it.

It has been alleged in the complaint that on the day of the event, the security staff of the university reported that nearly 300-400 students and outsiders participated in the programme during which political speeches were also delivered, disturbing the academic environment and social harmony in the university.

It was further alleged that several chairs and some other property at the venue were damaged.

Chautala, who was earlier booked in another vandalism case in connection with an event at the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJU S&T) in Hisar, hit out at the government following the recent FIR.

“Today, yet another FIR has been registered against me and my associates in connection with an old case; the government thinks we will be intimidated. The government seeks to confine the university solely to the RSS and ABVP. It remains silent on critical issues such as fee hikes, hostel facilities and student union elections,” Chautala said in a post on X.

INSO senior state vice-president Jaswinder Khaira alleged that the case has been lodged on the directions of the government after the Hisar incident. “The Kurukshetra police registered the FIR on April 17 whereas the event at the KU took place on April 7. If we had done something wrong, why did it take two weeks to register a case,” Khaira said.

A police official here said a SIT is investigating the case. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the probe, he said.