Congress, Samajwadi Party MPs detained on way to join Jamia Millia students’ protest in Delhi

Delhi Police detained Congress MP Imran Masood and Samajwadi Party MP Maulana Mohibullah Nadwi outside Jamia Millia Islamia as they tried to join a protest.

Two parliamentarians, Congress MP Imran Masood and Samajwadi Party MP Maulana Mohibullah Nadwi, were detained by the Delhi Police outside the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university on Friday evening, when they were allegedly trying to take part in a students’ protest at around 8.30pm.

Police outside Jamia Millia Islamia on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

With heavy security deployed outside the university due to ongoing protests, police got into a tussle with the MPs and some students.

A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “The two MPs were trying to enter the university without permission and join a protest. We detained them from outside only. They can’t enter the premises and have been put on preventive detention. No students were detained."

Since October 12, students at JMI have been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the resumption of elections and restoration of the students’ union.

Saurabh Tripathi, AISA activist, who has been part of the protest, said, “The students were peacefully protesting. There’s also a women’s march going on. We knew the MPs are going to come to support us. However, the police manhandled students and the leaders and detained them.”

Meanwhile, students also alleged that the university administration started building a wall to block two gates near a protest site to limit the gathering demanding a students’ union. They said the construction is underway near Gate 7 and Gate 10 near the Ibn Sina Library.

The university, however, said the construction was part of restoration work and unrelated to the protest. “A few gates required maintenance, and the construction of the wall is part of the restoration work. This has nothing to do with the protest. It is a measure to ensure safety and security on the university campus,” Jamia’s chief public relations officer, Saima Saeed, told HT.