Clash at JNU over ‘Ravan Dahan’ poster depicting Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
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New Delhi: A clash broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday evening during a Durga idol immersion procession on Dussehra. The violence occurred near Sabarmati T-Point after tensions flared over a controversial poster.
According to JNUSU President Nitish Kumar, the confrontation began when a poster depicting jailed student leaders Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam as Ravan was circulated earlier in the day. “Students from other groups were protesting against it when the ABVP’s Durga Visarjan procession reached the spot, and the situation turned chaotic,” Kumar said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) accused Left-affiliated groups, including AISA, SFI and DSF, of launching an attack. “They violently attacked the immersion procession, pelted stones, and even targeted female students. This is not just violence, but an assault on our traditions,” the ABVP said in a statement.
However, Kumar alleged that ABVP members halted their DJ at the tea point for nearly half an hour, raised slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Yogi ji’s bulldozer justice is here,” and later resorted to waving slippers.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) rejected ABVP’s allegations, accusing the group of politicising religion on campus. “ABVP is trying to communalise the campus through such programmes. This is nothing but propaganda,” AISA said.
The poster at the centre of the controversy portrayed Khalid and Imam—both jailed since 2020 under UAPA charges linked to the Delhi riots conspiracy case—as Ravan. The 2020 riots, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Both Khalid and Imam deny the charges.
Last week, the Supreme Court directed Delhi Police to respond to their bail pleas after repeated rejections by lower courts.
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Akola hottest in India at 46.9 deg C; Vidarbha under grip of heat wave
Nagpur (PTI): Akola in Maharashtra has recorded the highest temperature in the country at 46.9°C, while Nagpur and several other parts of Vidarbha reeled under a severe heat wave, MeT officials said on Monday.
Heat wave conditions are expected to persist across parts of the state's Vidarbha region till Tuesday, as maximum temperatures may reach 45 to 46 degrees Celsius and touch 47 degrees Celsius at isolated locations, they said.
On Sunday, Akola recorded 46.9 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in the country, followed by Amravati at 46.8 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department's Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Nagpur.
Wardha sizzled at 46.4 degrees Celsius, Yavatmal logged 46 degrees Celsius, Nagpur scorched at 45.4 degrees Celsius, while Chandrapur recorded 45 degrees Celsius, as per the data.
Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Nagpur experienced heat wave conditions, while several other districts reported above-normal temperatures, RMC scientist Dr Praveen Kumar told PTI.
The prevailing above-normal and persistently high temperatures over Vidarbha can be attributed to an anticyclonic circulation over Maharashtra and adjoining areas. At the same time, hot and dry northwesterly winds have been continuously affecting the region, he said.
In addition, weak western disturbances and the absence of moisture incursion or any significant weather systems have contributed to the intensification of heat over the region, the official said.
As per the Met department, heat wave conditions are likely to continue at a few or isolated places over the region till Tuesday.
The IMD has issued an 'orange' alert for Akola, Amravati and Wardha and a 'yellow' alert for Nagpur, Chandrapur and Yavatmal for Tuesday, saying that the maximum temperatures are likely to reach 45 to 46 deg C and possibly up to 47 deg C at isolated locations.
A relief from the heat wave is expected thereafter and the mercury is likely to dip by 2 to 3 deg C, with the possibility of rainfall and gusty winds in the coming days, it added.
The IMD grades the severity of any weather system through colour-coded alerts – green (no warning), yellow (be aware), orange (be prepared) and red (take action).
