JNU row: Kanhaiya Kumar "actually organised" Feb 9 event, "foreign elements" were present

New Delhi: The Delhi Police interrogated Jawaharlal Nehru University students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, who have been booked on charges of sedition, in the wee hours on Wednesday and asked them about the sequence of events that took place on February 9. The two will be produced before a magistrate today.

Here are the updates:

Delhi Police tells the Delhi High Court that JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar had not only participated in the event where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised in the JNU campus but had "actually organised" the programme.  In its 13-page status report filed before Justice Pratibha Rani, the police claimed that besides Kanahiya and other accused persons, some "foreign elements" were also present during the event.

"During the course of the investigation, statements of various eye-witnesses, who were found present on the spot, were recorded. It has come during the course of investigation that accused Kanhaiya, the petitioner herein (for bail), not only participated in the said event but actually organised the same in connivance with other accused persons," the police said in its status report.

According to a news report, Umar Khalid planned the pro-Afzal Guru event in JNU campus on February 09, while Anirban Bhattacharya prepared posters and collected other materials for the event.

During police questioning, the Khalid and Bhattacharya have reportedly told the interrogators that Reyaz-ul Haq – Student of International Language (Spanish) JNU - arranged the sound system for the program. Another name which came out was of Banjoyotsna Lahiri. She is associated with DSU and works as a guest faculty at Ambedkar University. She is alleged to have conceptualised the program in consultation with Umar Khalid.

Both of them reportedly said that Afzal Guru's hanging was debated in the past in the campus. Notably, Khalid said that he was very much associated with the Afzal issue. He also maintained that he had left 'Democratic Students Union' (DSU) on ideological reasons.

However, both of them disagreed that anti-India slogans were raised by the students of universities saying, if at all they were raised, it would have been a handiwork of some outsiders.

HC to pass directions with regard to place where Khalid and Bhattacharya will be produced after consultation with authorities concerned.

HC asks police to conduct remand proceedings secretly so that arrested students -- Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya -- are not harmed.

JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea hearing deferred to February 29. Cops tells HC that Kanhaiya's further police remand is necessary for confronting with other two accused.

The Delhi Police posed series of questions to both the JNU students regarding the February 09 event. The police asked why such event was organised and from where did the money came.

During interrogation, Umar confessed to raising pro-Afzal slogans.

It also asked the JNU students about the anti-national slogans and former Du professor SAR Geelani, who has been charged with sedition for organising a pro-Afzal Guru program at Press Club of India.

It is being learnt that the police asked Umar about his call detail records. Both Umar and Anirban revealed to the police about their location when they were absconding and also assisted the police in the interrogation.

Reports say that the other JNU students Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash, accused of allegedly shouted anti-national slogans are expected to surrender before police today.

Hearing on JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar's bail plea to resume today in Delhi High Court. Kumar, arrested in a sedition case, has claimed he is a victim of conspiracy and falsely implicated by "fabricating" evidence.

Umar's counsel says that police should verify the videos being circulated before arresting his client.

Khalid and Bhattacharya surrendered to police at around midnight and were placed in police custody at South Campus police station. They were questioned by the police for almost five hours. 

Khalid and Bhattacharya are among the five students who, along with JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, had allegedly shouted anti-national slogans at an event organised in the university campus to mark the death anniversary of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9.

Besides Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya, the other students are Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash.

JNU has been on the boil over the arrest of its students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges after some students organised a meet to mark the anniversaries of executions of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front co-founder Maqbool Bhat. Anti-India slogans were raised at the gathering.