Several students of Jamia Millia Islamia were issued notices by Delhi police asking them to appear for questioning in connection with alleged vandalism during a December 15 protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The violence had preceded a brutal raid by the police and paramilitary forces on the varsity campus.

On February 13, the police had filed its first chargesheet, an 800-page document, on the violence near the varsity. In the chargesheet, the police claimed that it had entered the campus “in order to safeguard students” and “tear gas shells and moderate force was used to disperse” violent protesters.

The Delhi police, however, has not been able to furnish conclusive proof against any Jamia student, despite three being named in an FIR. The police had mentioned earlier that a supplementary chargesheet will be filed.

Using Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which gives the police power to require attendance of witnesses, the notice directed students to appear before the crime branch at Chanakyapuri.

Two students who received these notices declined to comment on the matter.

“It is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain facts and circumstances from you, in relation to the present investigation,” the notice to one of them read.

The officer who signed the notice, crime branch SI Manoj Yadav, told The Telegraph that the notices were sent to students only to join the ongoing investigation.

“Students who were injured and detained are being checked. They are being examined right now, and not interrogated,” said Yadav.

He declined to reveal the number of students who received the notices.

A Delhi police crime branch team led by deputy commissioner (crime) Rajesh Deo had visited the campus on Tuesday. This was the first time a police team had visited the university for investigation after the December 15 incident. The team had taken statements from three students, including Mohammad Minhajuddin, who lost an eye, and Md Mustafa, whose hands were broken in the police brutality.

Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) treasurer and legal adviser to the students, Mohd. Areeb Hasan, claimed that more than 20 students were served the notice.

According to Hasan, the students who were injured and detained during the December 13 and December 15 protests have been served the notices because the police have their details in their records. Some who were identified through CCTV video clips that surfaced recently are also among them.

“They haven’t found any incriminating evidence against any student of Jamia Millia Islamia,” said Hasan.

AAJMI has filed petitions on behalf of the students who were injured in the police brutality and also approached the court to register FIRs against Delhi police officers involved in the crackdown. The association has also demanded an independent special investigation team be appointed.