New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has imposed a fine of Rs 19,000 each on eight members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for their alleged involvement in violence, including against female students, use of abusive language, and participation in a gherao during a campus-related incident in 2024. According to an order issued by the university on Jan 9, the students were found to have engaged in acts of indiscipline during a governing body meeting held in connection with students’ union elections at school of languages in 2024. The order concluded that the students’ conduct violated university norms.
The order called the acts “unbecoming of students” and warranted disciplinary action under university rules. The students have been directed to deposit the fine within 10 days of the issuance of the order.ABVP termed the move discriminatory and accused the administration of selectively targeting its members. It alleged that the university had failed to take action against Left-backed student groups in similar incidents, and called the punishment a biased approach. In March 2024, a violent scuffle broke out during a governing body meeting for students’ union elections, involving Left-backed student groups and ABVP members. Videos of the incident, which circulated widely on social media at the time, showed chaotic scenes inside the campus. Some clips showed alleged ABVP members hurling a bicycle and a man thrashing students with a stick. Other videos showed students being mobbed and beaten by groups as university security personnel struggled to intervene. Several students sustained injuries, following which both ABVP and Left-affiliated student groups filed police complaints against each other. In the aftermath, the university announced that it would initiate a probe and take action against those found to be involved in the violence.
