17 years after Batla House encounter, Jamia Students’ protest faces police crackdown
New Delhi: Seventeen years after the controversial Batla House encounter, student activists at Jamia Millia Islamia who sought to commemorate the incident have alleged police excesses during their protest on campus.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) organised a march under the banner “Insaf Mashaal Juloos” from the Central Canteen towards Gate No. 7 on Friday evening. Students claimed the rally was abruptly stopped when security personnel, with the support of the university’s own guards, allowed the Delhi Police to enter and detain participants.
According to student accounts, several female protesters were dragged and manhandled, with one hijab-clad student reportedly pulled away by women guards. Detainees also alleged that gates were deliberately left open to give police access inside the campus. AISA leaders and other activists were among those taken away.
The police action has revived debate around the Batla House encounter of 19 September 2008, in which Jamia student Atif Amin (24) and school aspirant Mohammad Sajid (17) were killed during a Special Cell operation. Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma also lost his life in the exchange.
Civil rights groups including PUDR, PUCL, APCR, JTSA and others have long questioned the official version of the operation, citing post-mortem reports that indicated blunt force injuries, execution-style bullet wounds, and inconsistencies in the escape narrative of alleged suspects. Despite these concerns, no judicial inquiry has ever been ordered.
Activists argue that the memories of the encounter continue to shape the lives of Muslim students in Delhi, many of whom faced detentions, interrogations and long-lasting stigma in its aftermath.
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High-level inquiry committee set up to probe fire in Rajdhani Express: Railway Board
New Delhi (PTI): The West Central Railway Zone has constituted a high administrative grade-level inquiry committee to investigate the fire on the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express on Sunday.
The fire erupted at 5.15 am in the B-1 passenger coach of the train between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota Railway division, one-and-a-half hours after it left the Ratlam Junction in Madhya Pradesh, according to an official. The fire also damaged the luggage brake and generator car behind the coach.
"The committee has been nominated by the general manager of West Central Railway (WCR). It comprises senior officers from the West Central Railway, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, and RDSO (Research Designs and Standards Organisation)," the Railway Board said in a press note.
"Principal chief safety officer, WCR, has been appointed as the convener of the committee," it said, also mentioning other committee members such as principal chief electrical engineer, principal chief mechanical engineer, principal chief security officer from the WCR zone, and principal chief mechanical engineer from the Integrated Coach Factory, among others.
As per the provisions of the Accident Manual, the committee has been directed to complete the inquiry within the stipulated timeframe.
The Board stated that the committee will conduct a detailed examination of the causes of the incident, technical aspects and safety parameters so as to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
"Indian Railways remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of passengers and is taking all necessary measures in this regard," it added.
