AMN /
JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, accused of raising anti-India slogans in university campus have surrendered before police tonight. They have been reportedly taken to Vasant Kunj police station.
They could be taken to court later in they day today.
Besides Khalid and Bhattacharya, the other students who have been accused of raising ‘anti national’ slogan are Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash. Delhi Police had issued a look-out notice on February 20 against Khalid, Bhattacharya, Naga, Ashutosh and Prakash.
Earlier in the day Delhi High Court asked these students to surrender before police and follow due procedure of law.
Declining to pass any immediate order on their plea for “safe surrender” and indicating that it will take up the matter in detail Wednesday, the Delhi High Court Tuesday suggested that JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, wanted by police in connection with raising of alleged anti-national slogans on the campus, surrender and “follow due procedure”.
Justice Pratibha Rani, while declining to pass any order for “interim protection”, mentioned that the trial court would be looking into the matter of police remand, and that a person arrested by police had to produced before the trial court within 24 hours.
Khalid and Bhattacharya had moved petitions seeking permission to surrender before the High Court and “safe passage” from the JNU campus to the court premises, alleging there was “threat to life and limb”.
During the hearing, advocate Kamini Jaiswal, who appeared for the JNU students, told the bench that the students had to file a surrender application due to the “exceptional circumstances” that had been created. She pointed out that Kanhaiya Kumar had been beaten up in court while in police custody, and that sting operations shown in the media had indicated that a section of lawyers was “ready to attack” the other students. She argued for “permission for peaceful surrender before the Delhi High Court.”