New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Tuesday urged students to put the past behind and return to the varsity's premises. The VC had been under fire from students and faculty members for not doing enough when they were brutally attacked by a masked mob on campus.
In a brief statement, Kumar said, "Our heart goes out to all injured students. The incident (violence) is unfortunate. I would like to tell students that JNU campus is a secure place.
"I urge all students to come back to the campus. Let us put the past behind."
After the attack there has been a demand from several quarters, including the students and faculty members, for his resignation.
Later interacting with reporters, he said the campus has its own security.
"If there is a law and order situation we do not rush to the police immediately. We see if our security can handle it.
"The campus has its own security. On Sunday, when we saw that there is a possibility of aggressive behaviour among students, we informed the police," he said.
The police has also come under flak for reaching after the mob had dispersed after running amok.
More than 35 students and faculty members were assaulted on Sunday evening after a mob went on a rampage, attacking students with sticks and iron rods and vandalising property.
Delhi Police seeks public help
Delhi Police on Tuesday issued a public appeal seeking pictures, footage or any information related to about Sunday's violence in JNU campus that left 34 people injured even as forensic teams looked for evidence.
Teams from Physics, Chemistry and Biology divisions of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were in the university, sources said.
The Physics team will collect evidence such as rods and stones used by the masked mob to attack students and teachers at the university, while the Chemistry team will collect samples of chemicals, if there are any. The biology team will collect DNA samples, among other evidence.
A team of photo experts from the FSL was also present at the campus.
Delhi Police has requested the FSL to also send a computer forensics team to analyse CCTV footage and it is likely to visit the university on Wednesday, according to the sources.
"A Crime Branch team of Delhi Police is probing the case in a scientific and professional manner and evidence is being collected," said Anil Mittal, Additional PRO of Delhi Police.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Crime Branch is headed by Joy Tirkey.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Western Range) Shalini Singh, who is heading a fact-finding committee to probe the incident, also visited the JNU campus and spoke to students and teachers.
Singh visited all the spots and interacted with the students on campus.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police's Crime Branch issued a public appeal urging "all those who are witnesses to the incident or have any information about the incident or have captured any activity on their mobile phones or camera" to "come forward and give their statements/footage/picture in their possession to the SIT".
An FIR has been registered against unidentified people in connection with the violence.
The Crime Branch, along with the local police team, had visited the campus on Monday to collect evidence, including CCTV footage.
The agency is scanning all CCTV footage of the incident and also the video clips uploaded on social media and circulated on WhatsApp, according to police.
