JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya surrendered on Tuesday night
Highlights
- Police: Students have contradictory versions of controversial JNU event
- One says no slogans raised, other says slogans raised not anti national
- Court warns police that arrested students should not be hurt in custody
JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested on sedition charges, have been kept in separate rooms and are being questioned apart, police sources have told NDTV.
The police say the students have contradicted each other on the controversial event that led to the charges against them.
Umar Khalid, Anirban and JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar have been arrested for their alleged role in a February 9 event on the campus of the prestigious university to mark the anniversary of the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, during which anti-India slogans were raised.
Sources say Umar Khalid has denied that anti-national slogans were raised. Anirban has reportedly told the police that slogans were raised but he has said he is not sure they were anti-national.
Umar Khalid has been accused of being the chief organizer of the event, but he has reportedly told the police he was just a part of it.
Whether students from outside participated in the event is also being investigated.
The police have also questioned the students on where they spent 10 days before resurfacing on the campus last Sunday.
Umar Khalid has reportedly said that he went to Jharkhand and Ghaziabad but the police are investigating whether he is trying to protect professors believed to have given shelter to the accused students.
During hours of questioning, Umar Khalid and Anirban were reportedly confronted with 28 inflammatory slogans allegedly raised during the Afzal Guru event.
Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested earlier this month and is currently in the Tihar Jail.
Umar Khalid and Anirban surrendered on Tuesday night after the court refused to protect them from arrest. The two, along with three other students, went missing and returned to the campus on Sunday.
They sought protection from the court to surrender at a secret location, citing the attack on Kanhaiya Kumar at a lower court when he was being taken for a hearing.
The Delhi High Court rejected their request but yesterday warned the police that no one should suffer "even a scratch."