After violence broke out on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday, the HRD Ministry met officials from the JNU administration and took stock of the situation even as vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar skipped the meeting.

The meeting held on Monday was attended by JNU registrar, proctor and other administration members who briefed the ministry officials on the sequence of events that took place on the campus and the measures taken to restore normalcy.

The ministry had yesterday sought an immediate report from JNU registrar Pramod Kumar over the violence in which students and teachers were attacked.

There was heavy deployment of police on Monday outside the Shashtri Bhawan in New Delhi which houses the HRD ministry.

'A detailed report has been sent to the HRD ministry about the sequence of events. The top administration officials are at the ministry to provide all details leading to present situation,' JNU vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar told PTI.

Some 200 stick-wielding men led by ABVP members had unleashed mayhem at JNU, thrashing students who were opposing registrations for the next semester over a steep hostel fee hike, leaving two dozen injured, faculty members said.

Moreover, Union home minister Amit Shah has spoken talked to Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal and requested him to call representatives from JNU for discussions, officials said.

'The home minister spoke to the LG and requested him to initiate discussions with representatives from the JNU,' an official said.

Yesterday, the home minster had spoken to Delhi police chief Amulya Patnaik and ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The home ministry has sought a report from the Delhi police.

Case registered against unidentified people

The Delhi police have registered a case against unidentified people in connection with the violence at JNU, officials said on Monday.

The case has been registered under section of rioting and damage to property, they said.

The case has been transferred to the crime branch of Delhi police.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Devender Arya said taking cognizance of the incident, 'We have registered an FIR against unidentified people.'

CCTV footage of the incident and social media platforms will also be examined as part of the investigation, he said

JNU teachers, however, said that the police deployed on the campus during the violence did nothing.

A JNU student called a Telegraph correspondent around 5.30pm to plead: “The police and ABVP members are chasing and beating us. It’s a civil-war-like situation, please do something.”

Meanwhile, Security has been beefed up outside the campus to maintain law and order, he added.

Police personnel stand guard at the main gate of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), in New Delhi, Monday, January 6, 2020 PTI

Injured students discharged

Thirty-four people admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi after the violence were discharged on Monday, officials at the institute said.

'34 people were admitted at the trauma centre after violence in JNU. Four of them had head injuries. They were discharged on Monday,' they said.

Professors Sucharita Sen and Ameet Parameswaran along with several students, including JNU students’ union president Aishe Ghosh, were admitted to the hospital.

Hostel wardens resign

The wardens of the Sabarmati hostel at JNU resigned on Monday, stating in their resignation letters that they were quitting on 'moral grounds' as they were unable to provide security to the hostel residents.

Sources close to wardens Ramavtar Meena and Prakash Chandra Sahoo, however, alleged that a group of students cornered them when they reached the hostel and accused them of not providing security.

The students made the wardens sign the resignation papers forcefully, the sources claimed.

Meena and Sahoo said they had fled the campus after being threatened by the masked group.

Political leaders express solidarity

Various political leaders cutting across the party lines expressed solidarity with the JNU students, who were allegedly beaten up inside varsity's premises by masked members brandishing lathis and iron rods.

The Congress accused the government of harbouring enmity with youth of the country and said violence in the JNU campus reminded it of the Nazi rule.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also accused the JNU administration of being complicit in the violent attack on Sunday night.

It also alleged that the Delhi Police remained a mute spectator when students were being attacked by armed miscreants.

'Why are you harbouring enmity with youth of country. The more you suppress voice of the youth, more emboldened it will become. Violence in JNU reminds us of Nazi rule 90 years ago,' Surjewala told reporters.

CPI leaders D. Raja and Annie Raja were present at JNU when the violence was taking place. They stood surrounded by ABVP activists who chanted “Urban Naxal, go back” while the police watched from 20 metres away.

D. Raja said he was “concerned with the safety of the children here, including my daughter (Aparajitha Raja)”.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP president Mayawati too condemned the violence.

Hitting out at the Centre, Yadav said that masked men attacking teachers and students in JNU shows how 'low' the government will stoop to rule through 'fear' adding that the BJP is using violence and hate to polarise society.

'Masked men attacking teachers and students in JNU shows the low to which the government will stoop in order to rule through fear. The BJP is using violence and hate to polarise society and stifle dissent. The ABVP are acting like the storm troopers of the BJP,' he said in a tweet on Sunday night.

The BSP has termed the mob attack as shameful and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

'The violence against students and teachers in JNU is shameful and condemnable. The Centre should take it seriously and it would be better to order a judicial probe into it,' Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi on Monday.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray compared the JNU violence with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, and said students were feeling 'unsafe' in the country.

Asserting that students in Maharashtra were safe, Thackeray said he will not tolerate any move to hurt them.

'The attack on JNU students on Sunday night reminded me of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. I will not allow anything like JNU to happen here in Maharashtra...students are feeling unsafe in the country,' he told reporters in Mumbai.

Terming the masked attackers at JNU as 'cowards', Thackeray said their identity should be revealed.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 'Nazi- style attacks' on students and teachers inside the campus was an attempt to create unrest and violence in the country.

Vijayan said the attack on students is an 'appalling display of intolerance running amok' and asked the Sangh Parivar forces to end its 'diabolical plan' to silence the universities with bloodshed.

'Those who attempted the Nazi-style onslaught on students and teachers of JNU was trying to create unrest and violence in the country... The attackers assumed the character of a terrorist group and reached the campus with deadly weapons,' Vijayan said in a Facebook post.

Students condemn violence

Various students from different universities too condemned the violence against JNU students.

Panjab University students shouted slogans during a seminar at the varsity in Chandigarh to protest against the violence at JNU.

The students shouted slogans when Haryana Assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta was speaking during a seminar on 'Women's Participation in Decision Making'.

Protesters including girls students were taken out of the seminar hall by the security personnel.

Students of the Film & Television Institute of India staged a protest on Sunday midnight against violence.

They are also planning to hold another demonstration on Monday, a member of FTII students' association said.

On Sunday midnight, the FTII students carried 'mashals' (fire torches) while shouting slogans against the violence and expressing solidarity with the JNU students.

They held a demonstration outside the FTII gate, holding banners with messages like - 'FTIIstands with JNU, condemns the violence of ABVP Goons'.

Later, students from various other colleges in Maharashtra's Pune city also joined the protest.

'After getting information about the JNU violence, we immediately called a meeting of students and staged a protest outside the FTII,' the students' association member said.