“We were peacefully sitting inside the library and studying. We were not even protesting outside. I don’t know why they hit us,” said Taj Mohammed (23), second year student of Masters in Islamic Studies as he lay on a bed at Al Shifa Hospital.
Recalling the episode when police entered the Jamia Millia Islamia University campus here on Sunday evening, the student from Uttar Pradesh said that though holidays had been declared, he hadn’t gone home as he was preparing for his National Eligibility Test examination and needed the library to prepare.
“It was around 6-6.30 p.m. when police entered forcibly. As soon as they entered, they started abusing us. They had sticks in their hands and were wearing helmets and jackets. They threw our books. My mobile phone was on the table, a cop took it and broke it,” he said.
Next, as he recalled, he was hit on his head and back with a stick after which he lay semi-conscious on the floor. He was taken to the Holy Family Hospital by a group of students. In the morning, he was shifted to the Al Shifa Hospital where he underwent treatment and was later discharged.
A female student who didn’t wish to be identified said: “I’ll never forget it. Police didn’t care whether it was male or female. They charged at us with sticks. I hid under a table and made a short video but within seconds, a cop saw us and pulled out a male friend hiding next to me.”
Zaful Islam, a research scholar, said: “We requested them to not use force on us but they did not listen.”
