JNUSU members claim they were heckled at academic council meet, police complaint registered

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) registered a police complaint against some professors who allegedly heckled its members in an academic council meeting at convention centre in Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on Friday.

The complaint registered by JNUSU at Vasant Kunj North police station alleged that some professors manhandled and heckled some of their members.

The names of the professors were given as Atul Kumar Johri and Ashwani Kumar Mohapatra.

However, Mohapatra rejected the allegations, calling them “baseless”. “It is unethical and illegal to video-record the AC meeting. The allegations of students are baseless. I tried to stop them from taking my pictures as they were taking it every time when I stood up to speak. The students were trying to obstruct the meeting. So we demanded the VC take disciplinary action against the students, or I will stay away from attending the meetings,” he told PTI.

JNU Students Union (JNUSU) president Mohit Kumar Pandey alleged that there was no room for discussion or debate at the meeting. “When students and teachers questioned the way agendas were being passed without discussion and debate, some stooges of the administration started chasing and heckling the student representatives,” Pandey said.

There was no space for deliberation and reasoned debates at the meeting, Pandey said, claiming that vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar cleared one agenda item after another without even registering dissent.

JNUSU also released a set of video clips claiming to be that of the proceedings of the meeting, in which some professors were seen fiercely arguing with each other. “Professors Atul Kumar Johri and Ashwani Kumar Mohapatra physically heckled JNUSU joint secretary Tabrez Hassan and held him by his collar. Similarly, other student representatives were shouted down and threatened,” the JNUSU said in a release.

It claimed that Johri was not a member of the academic council, but he still attended the meeting.

The 143rd academic council meeting was convened on Friday, after it was adjourned on 9 May, amid opposition from wide circles for holding the meeting during summer vacations.