Security tightened at JNU ahead of students’ protest march

For the past few weeks, the JNU administration and students have been at loggerheads over various issues including hostel fee hike, proposed curfew timings as per new hostel manual, limiting entry timings of parthasarathy rocks (PSR) — a popular hangout spot on campus.

Security has been tightened at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday ahead of a students’ protest over the new draft hostel manual. Students shared pictures of paramilitary and police personnel around the campus area.

Students shouts slogans amid a strike against new draft hostel manualby JNUSU at JNU Campus on Sunday (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

“We have a march planned to the vice chancellor’s house today. So the administration has tried yet another intimidation tactic. Even last night, we received a notice warning over our scheduled protests,” said JNU students’ union vice president Saket Moon. He added that paramilitary personnel was spotted near VC’s house and near the west gate of the campus. Despite several attempts, JNU administration was unavailable for a comment.

Police, however, denied that the personnel were inside the campus. “One company force comprising of 80-90 paramilitary and local police personnel are deployed outside the JNU campus. It is just a precautionary arrangement as we have got to know about a protest over fee hike on the campus. No policeman is inside the campus,” said Devender Arya, deputy commissioner of police (southwest).

For the past few weeks, the administration and students have been at loggerheads over various issues including hostel fee hike, proposed curfew timings as per new hostel manual, limiting entry timings of parthasarathy rocks (PSR) — a popular hangout spot on campus.

On Friday, vice chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had tweeted, “Rumours are being spread by some motivated students about new hostel manual recently approved by Inter Hall Administration (IHA) committee.” Kumar also said the rules on curfew timing and appropriate dress code were present in the old manual as well.

“The revision of the rates of the IHA committee has been done after more than a decade. For example, room rents were not revised in the last three decades,” registrar Pramod Kumar said, in a statement.