On a Women’s Day event organised by BSCEM, ABVP goons allegedly tore the posters at the site and attacked students. Labour rights activist Nodeep Kaur, Bilkis Dadi, as well as mothers of the Butana rape survivors, and the aunt of Gurhmandi rape victim were present at the celebration as speakers, which soon transformed into a site of terror. The police, allegedly, after mishandling students, detained three of them.
On 8th March 2021, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) organised an event near the Arts Faculty, University of Delhi (DU) in order to encourage discursive voices of women who stood against fascist regimes, and to honour the families of rape survivors. The event was supposed to be an amplification of unheard voices and fight for deserved rights for women of caste, colour and sexualities, professions and was organised to draw people’s attention towards the brutal rape cases in Gurhmandi and Butana.
The event was being carried out as planned until 30-40 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) goons disrupted the ceremony by removing posters, attacking the students and activists, and making sexist and homophobic comments on the women present in the event.
One of the speakers present at the event was the Dalit labour activist Nodeep Kaur, who was recently released from jail after her arrest and alleged custodial torture. Nodeep was just about to deliver her address when the ABVP allegedly entered the scene and started inquiring about the organisers having valid permissions required for the event, post which they attacked the students.
What came as a shock was the police, allegedly not doing much to stop the ABVP goons and sidelining with them, instead. The Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) alleged, in a statement, that the ABVP members “tore the posters at the site and attacked the students”, while the Delhi Police remained “mute spectators”. The security of the university and police removed all the posters and mishandled women and people from marginalized genders. They could not control the ABVP goons but detained three student activists and forcefully removed the rest.
The ABVP members allegedly hit a student on the head with a stick. Other students have sustained physical injuries as well, the statement added. Former DUTA President, Professor Nandita Narayan, who was present there, was also roughed up by the police.
Delhi Police sources have, however, informed The Quint that no case has been registered yet. According to PTI, the Delhi Police has also claimed that it has not received any complaint from either side so far.
Delhi University Students Union (DUSU), led by the ABVP, issued a statement in the same regard, stating that men present at the event had “attacked” its joint secretary Shivangi Kharwal after she had inquired about the motive of the event.
On the other side of things, Kisan Morcha’s Legal cell member, Vasu Kukreja who was at present at the event to meet Nodeep, alleged that Kharwal had slapped him after he had tried to record the event with his phone.
The BSCEM informed that following a protest outside the Maurice Nagar Police Station, the detained students were released.
Featured Image Credits: The Logical Indian
Annanya Chaturvedi
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