Student groups protest at JNU, Jamia against demolition of activist Afreen Fatima's house in UP

NEW DELHI: Several student groups on Monday held demonstrations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) here in support of former JNU student Afreen Fatima, whose house was razed by Uttar Pradesh authorities.

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) had on Sunday demolished the house of Javed Ahmad, the alleged mastermind of the June 10 violence in Prayagraj, amid heavy police deployment.

Ahmad is Fatima's father.

Dozens of activists of the All India Students' Association (AISA) marched from the Sabarmati hostel to JNU gate raising slogans against the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.

They held placards that read 'stop bulldozing Muslim lives' and 'stop state-sponsored terrorism on Muslims'.

The AISA also staged a protest at the Jantar Mantar here.

The Delhi Police violently detained several people but the protest continued, the students' group claimed.

"This spectacle of the bulldozer that the BJP wishes to create and spew venom in society will be defeated by people's unity.

We want to tell the majority that the bulldozer is also being run onto their livelihoods and conscience," AISA Delhi President Abhigyan said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) had also staged a demonstration on the JNU campus on Sunday.

Meanwhile, several student activists held a protest on the JMI campus against the "illegal" demolition and "persecution" of Muslim protesters in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and other parts of the country.

Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), Muslim Students Forum, All India Students Association and Fraternity Movement were part of the agitation, the SIO said.

Some of the SIO activists also protested outside the Uttar Pradesh Bhavan in the national capital.

The students' group claimed that police detained around 60 activists and took them to Parliament Street Police Station.

According to a PDA official, the building map of Ahmad's house had not been approved by the authority.

Protests against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spun out of control in Prayagraj and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh on June 10.

Ahmad has been arrested in connection with the violence and is being interrogated, police said.