Fair and unfair FIRs

THE brazen attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by alleged right-wing goons has triggered a needless blame game with the Union Home Ministry giving the clean chit to ABVP activists even before the probe was initiated. Worse, the JNU administration and the police are under fire for targeting JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh instead of ensuring peace on the campus. The ongoing inquiry, the purpose of which should be to separate facts from conjectures and ascertain the truth, seems to be losing its way in a maze of FIRs. Ghosh, whose blood-soaked face has become a telling image of the mayhem let loose on Sunday evening, has been booked on the charge of vandalising the server room on the university premises.

According to the Delhi Police, the first FIR was lodged on January 4 — a day before masked goons ran riot on the campus — on the complaint of the JNU administration regarding attempts to obstruct the registration process. The second and third ones were regarding a scuffle and another bid — or was it the same? — to block the registration of some students that day. The fourth FIR pertains to Sunday’s violence, while the fifth allegedly incriminates Ghosh and others. The tone and tenor of the FIRs apparently leave the field wide open for manipulation and partisanship.

The onus is on the Central government to get a free and fair inquiry completed at the earliest so as to dispel the misconceptions, besides restraining the likes of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, who has averred that no BJP worker or leader can incite violence. Such statements can threaten the credibility of the probe, which is being overseen by the Home Ministry itself. First and foremost, the masked assailants should be identified and traced. The police should also verify whether a fringe group’s claim about perpetrating violence is true or it’s just a red herring. If Ghosh and her aides are found guilty, due action should be taken against them, but shielding those who went on the rampage would only widen the trust deficit.

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