BBC Documentary Row: JNU students stage protest, allege stone pelting during screening

They claimed that they were attacked when they were watching the documentary on their mobile-phones as the screening could not be held. Some alleged that the attackers were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a charge the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student body however denied.

Several students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have claimed that the varsity had cut power and internet to stop the screening of a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the JNUSU office. They also staged a protest after stones were thrown on them.

They claimed that they were attacked when they were watching the documentary on their mobile-phones as the screening could not be held. Some alleged that the attackers were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a charge the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student body however denied.

Later in the night, students held a protest march until the Vasant Kunj police station and lodged a complaint against the stone pelters. On the power cut at the campus, a JNU administration official, said, "There is a major (power) line fault at the university. We are looking into it. The engineering department is saying it will be resolved at the earliest," as reported by NDTV.

There was no immediate official response from the JNU administration to the allegations and claims of the students. It had on Monday in an advisory said that the union had not taken its permission for the event and it should be cancelled, warning of strict disciplinary action.

However, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) earlier in the day in a statement had said that there is no intention to create any form of disharmony through the screening of the documentary or movie.

It also sought a clarification from the administration regarding rules which mandate that prior permission is required for screening of any film or documentary on the university premises JNU-All India Students Association (AISA) secretary Madhurima said, "Some students had seen ABVP activists pelting stones and recognised them." She added that "also, a teacher had called sometime back (informing) that there were some goons, wearing masks, around the main gate and were talking about weapons."

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