Delhi Police detain 12 Jamia students during march marking 17 years of Batla House encounter, AISA alleges peaceful protestors mishandled, police deny claims
Delhi Police detained at least 12 students of Jamia Millia Islamia on Friday, 19th September, during a march held to mark 17 years since the Batla House encounter. Police said the students were stopped only after they tried to move outside the campus and raised what officers described as “provocative slogans.” The students, however, told a different story. They said the march has been organised every year, except during the COVID pandemic, in Jamia Nagar to demand a judicial inquiry into the 2008 encounter. They also said they had decided beforehand not to raise slogans or do anything that could cause confrontation with the police. Students at Jamia said Friday’s march was peaceful but was interrupted near the university’s Gate No. 7. According to them, police took them off campus and detained them. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) said that the incident happened in full public view while the SHO of Jamia Nagar police station was present. AISA claimed that women students were among those detained and that some students were taken far outside Delhi. The police, however, denied these claims. An officer said the students had tried to come off campus while shouting slogans, which is when 12 of them were detained. They were all released within two hours, the officer added, and no student is currently under detention. Still, the incident has upset many on campus. Mishkat Tehrim, AISA President, said, “I thought we would be safe inside campus… I have never seen something like this after the CAA-NRC protests.” Saiyed Ishfaq, AISA’s Delhi State President, who was among those detained, also alleged that students were forcibly picked up and dropped far from the university. “The Jamia administration purposely left the gate open, creating confusion… I was detained on campus. Women students were dragged by guards…”, Ishfaq further added. Police denied these claims and said no student was dragged. The Jamia administration has not given any official response yet. Background of the Batla House encounter The Batla House encounter happened on 19th September 2008, following a series of bomb explosions in Delhi, which resulted in the deaths of 39 individuals and injuries to 159. Delhi Police’s Special Cell, acting on a tip-off, stormed into a flat in Jamia Nagar, Okhla, where suspected terrorists had taken shelter. During the ensuing gunfight, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and Head Constable Balwant Singh were wounded; Sharma later died of his injuries. Two men in the flat, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid, were also killed. Twenty-four-year-old Atif Amin was a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, and 17-year-old Sajid was an aspirant of Jamia School. The killing of Atif Amin, who was the chief bomber of the terrorist outfit ‘Indian Mujahideen’, had dealt a severe blow to the group, which had earlier been responsible for terror attacks between 2007 and 2009, in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat and Faizabad. On the second anniversary of the encounter, a shooting took place at the gates of historic Jama Masjid, Delhi, in which two foreign tourists were injured; apart from that, a car bomb with a failed timer was also found in the vicinity. Two others accused, Shahzad Ahmad and Ariz Khan, were arrested in 2010 and 2018 for the murder of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. They were firstly given the death sentence, which was later reduced to life imprisonment. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had also given clean chit to Delhi Police of any foul play in the encounter, and the Delhi High Court had also rejected a plea seeking a magisterial inquiry.
Delhi Police detained at least 12 students of Jamia Millia Islamia on Friday, 19th September, during a march held to mark 17 years since the Batla House encounter. Police said the students were stopped only after they tried to move outside the campus and raised what officers described as “provocative slogans.”
The students, however, told a different story. They said the march has been organised every year, except during the COVID pandemic, in Jamia Nagar to demand a judicial inquiry into the 2008 encounter. They also said they had decided beforehand not to raise slogans or do anything that could cause confrontation with the police.
Students at Jamia said Friday’s march was peaceful but was interrupted near the university’s Gate No. 7. According to them, police took them off campus and detained them. The All India Students’ Association (AISA) said that the incident happened in full public view while the SHO of Jamia Nagar police station was present. AISA claimed that women students were among those detained and that some students were taken far outside Delhi.
The police, however, denied these claims. An officer said the students had tried to come off campus while shouting slogans, which is when 12 of them were detained. They were all released within two hours, the officer added, and no student is currently under detention.
Still, the incident has upset many on campus. Mishkat Tehrim, AISA President, said, “I thought we would be safe inside campus… I have never seen something like this after the CAA-NRC protests.”
Saiyed Ishfaq, AISA’s Delhi State President, who was among those detained, also alleged that students were forcibly picked up and dropped far from the university.
“The Jamia administration purposely left the gate open, creating confusion… I was detained on campus. Women students were dragged by guards…”, Ishfaq further added.
Police denied these claims and said no student was dragged. The Jamia administration has not given any official response yet.
Background of the Batla House encounter
The Batla House encounter happened on 19th September 2008, following a series of bomb explosions in Delhi, which resulted in the deaths of 39 individuals and injuries to 159.
Delhi Police’s Special Cell, acting on a tip-off, stormed into a flat in Jamia Nagar, Okhla, where suspected terrorists had taken shelter. During the ensuing gunfight, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and Head Constable Balwant Singh were wounded; Sharma later died of his injuries. Two men in the flat, Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid, were also killed.
Twenty-four-year-old Atif Amin was a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, and 17-year-old Sajid was an aspirant of Jamia School.
The killing of Atif Amin, who was the chief bomber of the terrorist outfit ‘Indian Mujahideen’, had dealt a severe blow to the group, which had earlier been responsible for terror attacks between 2007 and 2009, in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat and Faizabad.
On the second anniversary of the encounter, a shooting took place at the gates of historic Jama Masjid, Delhi, in which two foreign tourists were injured; apart from that, a car bomb with a failed timer was also found in the vicinity.
Two others accused, Shahzad Ahmad and Ariz Khan, were arrested in 2010 and 2018 for the murder of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. They were firstly given the death sentence, which was later reduced to life imprisonment.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had also given clean chit to Delhi Police of any foul play in the encounter, and the Delhi High Court had also rejected a plea seeking a magisterial inquiry.
