JNU Students' Union alleges attack by ABVP, while taking out a march

New Delhi: JNU Students' Union on Sunday alleged that RSS-affiliated ABVP attacked some students who took out a march seeking justice for the IIT Bombay student who allegedly faced discrimination.

Denying the allegation, the ABVP accused the Left-backed student outfits of "insulting" Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) sought justice for IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.

Solanki, 18, allegedly died by suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building on the Powai campus of the IIT on February 12, but his family suspects of foul play in his death and said he faced discrimination.

In a statement, the JNUSU said, "ABVP has once again resorted to attacking students.... This was done soon after a candlelight march in solidarity with the call by Darshan Solanki's father.... ABVP does this once again to derail the movement against caste discrimination." The ABVP denied the charge and accused the "Left group" of removing a garland from a picture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and throwing it away.

The student outfit said it organised a function to mark the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

"Immediately after the programme, the students on the Left came there and removed the garland from the picture and threw it away," the ABVP said in a statement.

PTI with superficial editing