'Outsiders tried to screen BBC documentary in campus’ says DU registrar, cops detain 24 students
2 min read . Updated: 27 Jan 2023, 07:53 PM IST
PremiumDelhi Police on Friday detained around 20 people from outside the Faculty of Arts at the University of Delhi in the wake of a call by NSUI-KSU for the screening of the BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi
After "outsiders" attempted to show a contentious BBC documentary at the Arts Faculty on Friday, Registrar Vikas Gupta said that police were called to the Delhi University campus to ensure peace and order. This occurs just a few days after a similar uproar over the showing of the documentary on the 2002 Gujarat Riots at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia.
24 students from the DU's Arts Faculty were held, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi, but everything are back to normal today.
Police took action as the students had gathered outside the Arts Faculty building to demonstrate against being denied the right to screen the documentary.
"We got to know that some students were trying to screen the documentary, so our proctor informed the police. There were many outsiders among those who tried to screen the film," Gupta told PTI.
Gupta continued, "Police arrived to uphold the law-and-order situation in the region.
Police officers, according to Kalsi, are on the scene keeping an eye on the situation.
He went on to say, “We were told by the university that there is a possibility of a disruption on the campus. They wrote to us and urged us to handle the situation. So we entered the campus and the situation was brought under control."
About 20 people gathered outside the Arts Faculty gate at 4 o'clock to see the BBC documentary. They were told to leave because it would disturb the peace and quiet in the neighbourhood. The DCP claimed that when they didn't, they were arbitrarily detained.
The Delhi Police received a letter from the university administration earlier in the day on the intended screening. Rajni Abbi, the proctor at Delhi University, stated that they would not permit the screening and emphasised that the student organisations had not requested permission from the administration.
Earlier on 24 January (Monday), a group of students distributed a flyer in Jawaharlal Nehru University inviting students to a showing of the documentary at the students union office at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University issued a warning against displaying the BBC documentary on campus.
The JNU Students Union wrote to the university administration in response to the administration's strong advice against the showing of the BBC documentary, stressing that they "do not seek to create any type of strife" and that their intention is to just view it on campus. Additionally, the letter said that only the children who expressed a "voluntary interest" would participate in the screening.
Later that evening, JNU students marched toward Vasant Kunj police station, alleging that ABVP members had stoned them when the aforementioned documentary was being shown.
After the police promised to take up the issue and look into it right away, the protest was then called off.
Last weel, multiple YouTube videos and tweets containing links to the documentary had been blocked by the Center. The Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed the two-part BBC documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and displayed a "colonial mindset".
(With inputs from agencies)
