Published On : Thu, Mar 17th, 2016

Revealed: Two missing students add to JNU puzzle

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New Delhi/Nagpur: In a fresh twist to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) saga, two students, Mujeeb Gattoo and Mohammed Qadeer, alleged to have been part of anti-India sloganeering, and missing from campus, find mention in the report of a high-level committee formed to look into the February 9 incident.

On February 9, an event organised to protest hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was held despite the university withdrawing permission for it. According to the report, Gattoo and Qadeer, hailing from Kashmir, were “seen in close proximity of the outsiders” who indulged in anti-India sloganeering.

The report prepared by a five-member panel, headed by Rakesh Bhatnagar, a professor at the varsity, said it was unfortunate that the students allowed outsiders to be present on campus and shout provocative slogans. The panel has also noted lapses on the part of the university’s security unit, saying it did not make any effort to stop outsiders from shouting slogans and stop them from leaving the campus.

“This group of students had their faces covered by a cloth/scarf most of the time. They were shouting slogans like: Kashmir ki azadi tak, jang rahegi, jang rahegi; Bharat ko ragda, de ragda, zor se ragdo, de ragda and Go India, go back. Along with these outsiders, one JNU student Mujeeb Gattoo was also seen participating in the sloganeering in the video clip. Another student, Mohd Qadeer, was seen close to Gattoo. Both were found in close proximity of the outsiders,” the report said.

“They (Gatto and Qadeer) are not in their rooms. We have not seen them since the incident took place,” one of the students from Kaveri hostel, where Gattoo stayed, told Mail Today.

A social science student, Gattoo joined the university in 2012 and had no political agenda. On the other hand, Qadeer has been an active member of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Both these Kashmiri students are missing from their respective hostels. Qadeer was in Lohit hostel and has not been seen for the last few days,” a senior official from the university told Mail Today, requesting anonymity.

Sucheta De from AISA told Mail Today: “From what I know, Qadeer has not been served any show-cause notice by the university. He has gone to Kashmir to meet his mother.”

Taking into account the role of outsiders in the controversial event, the university panel has found Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya guilty of arousing communal, caste or regional feeling and creating disharmony among students. No specific charges have been pointed against the JNUSU president Kannhaiya Kumar. Kumar along with Khalid and Bhattacharya were arrested on charges of sedition. While Kumar is out on bail, Khalid and Bhattacharya are still in custody.

The Delhi Police has failed to identify the masked outsiders mentioned in the university report and also not been able to trace Qadeer and Gattoo.

The report pointed out that slogans like “Kashmir ke log sangharsh karo hum tumhare saath hain”, “Afzal Guru Zindabad, Cheen ke lenge Azaadi”, “Manipur maange Azaadi”, “Nagaland maange Azaadi”, “Kashmir maange Azaadi” “Kashmir ki Azaadi tak jung rahegi jung rahegi”, “Hindustan ki barbadi tak, jung rahegi jung rahegi”, “Hum kya mange azaadi, bandook se lenge azaadi”, “Cheen ke lenge azaadi”, “Ek Afzal maroge, har ghar se Afzal niklega” etc were shouted.

The report mentions that other than Khalid and Bhattacharya, there were nine students who participated in such sloganeering.