JNU row: VC Jagadesh Kumar in a catch whether to allow police inside the campus

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar appeared to be in a Catch-22 situation as competing pressures kept building up on him over Umar Khalid and four other students facing charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy.

Even as the Delhi Police tried to prevail upon Kumar to let them in and arrest the students who resurfaced on the campus late on Sunday night after several days, the teachers’ association met him twice to push for getting the sedition and criminal conspiracy charges against the students dropped while also strongly opposing any move to let the police in. The five students said the police can arrest them from the campus and cited “threat to life” to step out on their own.

Despite repeated attempts, Kumar and the JNU registrar didn’t respond to requests from ET seeking comment.

Ajay Patnaik, president of the JNU teachers’ association, said Kumar has been battling competing pressures as the standoff continued. When asked if the V-C is in a Catch-22 situation, he said: “I suppose so. Because he is till now resisting. There must be a lot of pressure on him. I don’t know. He would be under pressure to allow the police and he would be under pressure from the (JNU) community not to allow police. So obviously…”

The teachers met Kumar — once members of the association’s executive committee and then a large group of 300 — to push for four demands: the university make efforts to drop the charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy against all students, not allow police inside the campus, reconstitute the internal inquiry panel and create a conducive atmosphere for an internal inquiry and removal of registrar.

According to Patnaik, Kumar told teachers that he was “taking many opinions” and then “will take a call”. The V-C also assured them that police “would not be allowed in”, he said. Police teams had tried to enter the campus on late Sunday night when the students facing the charges reappeared, but were denied permission. Kumar had faced criticism over the university’s decision a fortnight ago to let the police arrest students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar from the campus.

Speaking of the V-C’s decision not to let the police in so far this time, Patnaik said: “Given the pressure, it was a bold thing to do.” MoS for Home Kiren Rijiju said: “The police will take a call, and will speak to the JNU authorities. Police will take appropriate action at the appropriate time.”