Kanhaiya Kumar Attacked Inside JNU Campus

By Countercurrents.org

10 March, 2016
Countercurrents.org

JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar was ttacked on JNU campus allegedly by an outsider today evening. The attacker entered the campus and attacked Kanhaiya Kumar when he was going to attend an evening class. Kanhaiya Kumar is reportedly safe and the attacker has been detained by fellow students. The man said he wanted to "teach him a lesson" for "abusing the country, raising anti-India slogans".

On 12 February 2016 Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested and charged with sedition in relation to a student rally organised in JNU Campus on 9 February against the hanging of Afzal Guru convicted over the 2001 Indian Parliament attack.

On 17 February, Kumar was assaulted by some lawyers inside the Patiala House court, New Delhi. On February 22, 2016, India Today broadcast a video in which three lawyers of the Patiala House court claimed that they had beaten Kanhaiya Kumar while the latter was in police custody. A six member Supreme Court-appointed panel later confirmed that the policemen present at the Court were responsible for the security lapses, and further stating that police allowed two persons to enter the court room, and continued to let the assault take place, in direct violation of the SC direction on Kanhaiya's safety.

On 2 March 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar was granted bail by the Delhi High Court, conditional on a 10,000 rupee bail bond and an undertaking that he would not "participate in any anti-national activity." Justice Pratibha Rani noted that there were no recordings of Kumar participating in anti-national slogans. Going beyond the immediate issue, the judge also held that the alleged slogans threaten national integrity and cannot be considered as free speech. She characterized them as a form of "infection," which can either be treated or, in some cases, "amputationi is the only treatment." A separate magisterial investigation appointed by the Delhi Government did not find any evidence of Kanhaiya Kumar participating in anti-national slogans. Out of the 7 videos of the event sent to forensic lab, three were found to be doctored including a clipping of a news channel.