Umar Khalid, the JNU student who was charged with sedition alongside JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, surrendered late last night to police. The surrender took place after the Delhi High Court refused to grant interim protection against arrest to Khalid and another student co-accused Anirban Bhattacharya in the case.
Shehla Rashid, JNU Students Union vice president, who had been leading the protests in the absence of Kumar and Khalid, posted on Facebook saying, "Friends, this is to inform you that Comrade Umar and Comrade Anirban have surrendered themselves to the police. It's a moment of sadness for the campus, because we have seen these activists for years standing with the students. However, they have placed their faith in the law and we hope that they will be released soon. We also hope that Comrade Kanhaiyya gets bail tomorrow."
Stand With JNU, the YouTube channel, created to counter 'media misrepresentations' of the incidents at JNU have put out two videos, one showing the students surrendering, and one in which Khalid is asked what thoughts are running in his head right before the arrest.
In a short 18-second video, a smiling Khalid says, "People outside will have to carry on the struggle. We will be fighting from inside."
The next video, which shows them marching with fellow students to surrender, also shows the media swooping down on the students even as some of them are heard saying, "aise mat kijiye (don't behave like this)". One can hear a reporter constantly hollering, "Kahaan ja rahe hai, kya surrender ke liye ja rahe hai (Where are you going? Are you going to surrender?)"
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