Following the release of a poster by SFI Jamia inviting students to join the screening of the controversial BBC documentary on PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday, security has been beefed up outside the Jamia Milia University. Five students have also been detained. Central Reserve Police Force has been deployed outside the university.
A poster was released on the Instagram account of SFI Jamia Millia Islamia inviting people to attend the screening of “India: The Modi question”, streaming of which on social media platforms is blocked in India
The screening is scheduled for 6 PM on Wednesday in MCRC lawn.
Taking cognisance matter, the Jamia authorities issued an advisory asking students to refrain from organising such an event. In a statement the chief proctor said, “This is to reiterate that no meeting/gathering of students shall be allowed in any part of the campus including lawns and gates without prior permission of the competent authority, failing which strict disciplinary action shall be taken against the organizers.”
The students who have been detained have been identified as Azeez, Nivedya, Abhiram, Tejas – all SFI members.
The students have called for a meeting at 4 pm to protest the detention of the students.
In a statement, SFI Jamia Unit said, “In an atrocious manner, Azeez, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia and SFI Jamia Unit Secretary, Nivedya, Jamia Student and SFI South Delhi Area Vice President, Abhiram, and Tejas Jamia students and SFI Unit members have been detained by Delhi Police prior to the screening of the documentary. Azeez has been taken to Sukhdev vihar police station. Nivedya was also manhandled by the Security guards, who tried to snatch the phone which she was trying to record the situation with. The SFI Jamia Unit had decided to screen the BBC documentary today on campus.”
This comes after the ruckus over the screening of the documentary at JNU. The authorities at JNU on Tuesday snapped electricity supply and internet services to stop students from screening the documentary. Students defied administration’s advisory by watching the film on their laptops and phones using QR codes. There were reports of violence and stone pelting on the campus during the screening.