AMU Says it Will Lodge FIR Against Aligarh Police for Excesses on Campus on December 15

Lucknow: Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Professor Tariq Mansoor says the institute will lodge an FIR against the Aligarh police for alleged excesses committed against its students on the night of December 15, a spokesperson for the university said on Tuesday.

“Vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor has stated that the police was called inside the AMU premises on the night of December 15 just to clear the passage between Bab-e-Syed gate and VC Lodge by dispersing the crowd. However, cops entered the campus, thrashed students and damaged property. Thus, an FIR would be lodged against the Aligarh police,” AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai said in a statement.

The students, however, dismissed the incident as nothing but a mere "damage control exercise."

Intense clashes had erupted on AMU campus on the fateful night of December 15, when the police, dressed in riot gear and armed with tear gas, entered the campus, barging into hostels, to quell protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and police violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University. The university then closed down for the winter break, and the hostels were emptied as students were asked to leave.

Mansoor, who has been a subject of deep students’ resentment, was accused of summoning cops to campus to engage in violence.

Later, amid widespread criticism for allowing police on the campus, the AMU VC wrote an open letter to the students, apologising for the “turn of events”.

On January 11, he also wrote a letter to the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Aligarh to ensure security for him and his family in view of threats issued by “anti-social” and lumpen elements, drawing a sharp reaction from students who demand his immediate removal from the post.

Meanwhile, a delegation of officials from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) led by IPS officer Manzil Saini, continued its probe into the violence and interacted with AMU authorities, staff and the students, in compliance with the Allahabad High Court order.

The NHRC team is expected continue in-campus investigation for a few more days.

Meanwhile, the protests against the CAA and proposed NRC continue on the AMU campus, classes remain suspended on the campus as of now.