The Delhi police has faced severe criticism for its handling of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus violence. Violence broke out in the campus on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property. Nearly 34 people were injured in the violence.

JNU students have claimed that the police did not act promptly in stopping the attacks. Hundreds sloganeered against the policemen, who were reported to have stood as spectators when students and faculty members of JNU were assaulted by the armed, masked goons.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, the DCP of South West Delhi, Devendra Arya, has given the police’s version of what happened on Sunday night.

“There were two clashes between two groups of students inside the campus. Both at two different times. Police reacted to PCR calls,” said Arya.

On the criticism that the police came too late, Arya said, “Additional reinforcement was sent and the entire university premises were secured once we had written request from the JNU administration. Police has acted in absolute and all alertness.”

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It’s noteworthy that an FIR has been registered but no one has been booked or arrested so far in the incident.

“We are working on finding out who are these people were. The police has filed an FIR and taken cognizance of the WhatsApp messages, the videos which are getting circulated and several teams are currently investigating all these aspects involved,” Arya explained.

The South West Delhi DCP dismissed charges that the police was late in reacting point-blank.

“As far as the response time of the police is concerned, I am reiterating that the police responded in time and had the entire situation under control by 8:30 pm in the evening,” he said.

When asked about the alleged role of ABVP and other political party student unions, Arya said that investigation was underway.

“Our first prime area of focus is to identify who these people are and take the legal course of action further. The second area of focus will be to normalise the situation at the University,” he said.

First Published:Jan 6, 2020 7:01 PM IST