An uneasy calm over Aligarh and some unanswered questions   

There is a palpable improvement in the situation in the sensitive town of Aligarh for the past two days. However, keeping in mind reports of violence following protests over Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in several leading western UP towns, especially Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor, the district authorities are taking no chances and have launched a massive outreach programme in all minority-dominated localities.

In Aligarh, this outreach programme is led by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Akash Kulhai, who is invoking the name of Gandhi, the father of the nation, in an effort to persuade citizens that “so long their protest is peaceful, the police will not intervene”. The district authorities are also setting up special camps for enabling people to obtain Aadhar cards and other documents which may be needed for identification purposes.

Reports of police excesses which are emanating from the neighbouring districts are sprinkling fuel to the fire and adding to the woes of district authorities who are leaving no stone unturned to assure members of the minority community that their concerns over the CAA will be addressed in an appropriate manner.

At the AMU campus, there is a hushed silence after the complete evacuation of nearly 12000 inmates from all hostels of the university. However, the social media is rife with the controversy over reports of police excesses against protesting students on Sunday night.

A widespread controversy has been sparked off following media reports based on accounts of injured students that the police used some nonlethal weapons which have not been used before and have yet to be identified. The fact that one student protester lost his hand during an explosion by some unidentified weapon has fueled speculation on the likely cause behind this incident.

Some senior faculty members at AMU including the secretary of the AMU Teachers’ Association, Prof Najmul Islam, told this writer that only a fair-minded and just enquiry can uncover the truth behind the controversy over the use of stun grenades.

Kulhari however, totally denies that the UP police, which was present on the spot, used “stun grenades or any other similar non-lethal weapon”. The Aligarh police chief’s response has in fact deepened the mystery behind this matter.

Kulhari was on a day’s leave on December 15 when violence erupted at AMU. He, however, is confident about his claims on the non-usage of stun grenades by the UP police. He said he was ready to face any judicial probe to prove that there is “no missing non-lethal weapon in the police armoury stock”.

However, when this writer questioned him whether he could make a similar claim regarding the members of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) who were leading the police party, which confronted the protesting students that night, the SSP parried the question and maintained a discreet silence.

When this writer pointed out that several video clips including those by some news channels had shown picture frames of loud explosions followed by bursting of flames, Kulhari responded by saying, “We will have to check with the RAF before saying anything on this score”.

For the AMU authorities, the coming fortnight is going to be a very challenging period with passions still running high all over the state. When the university reopens on January 6, the university authorities will undoubtedly face a very tricky situation.

According to a campus old-timer, who preferred to remain anonymous, “The only way out for the university authorities is to draw up an action programme with an open mind and absolutely fresh approach to what is going to be a very formidable challenge. Old options are not going to work.”

AMU vice-chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor told newspersons yesterday, “We have instituted an internal inquiry into the entire sequence of events which took place between the December 13 and morning of the December 16. We will place all evidence including video clips and CCTV footage before the inquiry committee so that there is complete transparency”.

In a gesture of goodwill, the university today announced that it had decided to give ad hoc appointment as an Assistant Professor to a PhD scholar, Mohammad Tariq, whose wrist bone was completely smashed following an explosion which took place on December 15 night near Baab-e-Syed gate when police were trying to disperse the protesters.

There is no doubt that with the coming New Year, the AMU, one of the country’s leading educational institutions, is likely to pass through a very testing period.