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JNU Row: Kanhaiya Kumar, Others Go On Indefinite Hunger Strike

Kanhaiya Kumar, Others Go On Indefinite Hunger Strike Over JNU Row
NEW DELHI , INDIA - APRIL 26: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar with Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shehla Rashid Shora burning copies of the report in front of the administrative block, on April 26, 2016 in New Delhi , India. JNU has suspended students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shehla Rashid Shora while slapping a fine of Rs. 10,000 on Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar. JNU students' union has decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike starting Wednesday to protest the action taken against its President Kanhaiya Kumar. Kanhaiya, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested on charges of sedition in February in connection with an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI , INDIA - APRIL 26: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar with Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shehla Rashid Shora burning copies of the report in front of the administrative block, on April 26, 2016 in New Delhi , India. JNU has suspended students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shehla Rashid Shora while slapping a fine of Rs. 10,000 on Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar. JNU students' union has decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike starting Wednesday to protest the action taken against its President Kanhaiya Kumar. Kanhaiya, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested on charges of sedition in February in connection with an event against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- JNU students who have been punished by the university in connection with the controversial 9 February event yesterday began an indefinite hunger strike to demand revocation of punitive action.

JNU Students' Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya along with other students started the hunger strike at night and said they reject the findings and recommendations of the high-level inquiry committee that probed the incident.

JNU has suspended students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shehla Rashid Shora while slapping a fine of Rs. 10,000 on Kanhaiya Kumar.

Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban Bhattachayra were arrested on the charge of sedition in February in connection with an event on campus against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. They are out on bail now.

"We have been maintaining right from the beginning that we have no faith in the probe committee. We are all sitting on hunger strike against the arbitrary punishments given to us. The inquiry was a sham and students have rejected it in our general body meeting. We will not abide by the punishment given to us," JNUSU General Secretary Rama Naga said.

The students took out a march late night from Ganga Dhaba to administration block against the action.

While Kanhaiya has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 10,000 on grounds of "indiscipline and misconduct", Umar, Anirban and Kashmiri student Mujeeb Gatoo have been rusticated for varied durations.

Kanhaiya Kumar protests as he was fined of Rs. 10,000/ by the authorities of JNU High Level Committee.

Fourteen students have been imposed financial penalty, hostel facilities of two students have been withdrawn and university has declared the campus out of bounds for two former students.

ABVP member Saurabh Sharma, who was complainant in the case lodged over the event, has also been slapped with a penalty of Rs 10,000 for blocking traffic.

Five members of ABVP have been sitting on hunger strike since yesterday, alleging that the university is "criminalising" patriotism.

The university officials, however, maintained that the decision has been taken after thorough investigation by a five-member probe panel and are in accordance with varsity norms.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.