Jamia student says he lost sight in one eye after police stormed into campus library
Minhajuddin said he was studying inside the library when police began attacking students.
A student from Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi has claimed to have lost sight in one eye during the police action in the library on Sunday, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The student from Bihar, 26-year-old Minhajuddin, said he was studying inside the library when “20 to 25” policemen stormed in and “rained lathis on students”.
After an operation on Monday, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Eye Centre said that Minhajuddin’s left eye had been damaged in such a way that the chances of him recovering his eyesight were nil, reported The Quint.
Those who were with him said that the student was brutally beaten up by police. The final-year LLM student told The Indian Express, “Everyone ran for cover and I hid in the washroom afterwards.”
A student helped Minhajuddin move to the hostel behind the library after some time as he “was feeling too weak to escape the spot alone”, reported the newspaper. Students called an ambulance, which took him to the nearby Alshifa hospital. He was later referred to AIIMS.
Minhajuddin said he was planning legal action. An ophthalmologist who saw his medical report told The Indian Express that there is no vision in the left eye for now, but added: “But if that is due to corneal rupture, which is yet to be operated on, the situation will have to be monitored in the coming days. It will depend on his next visit when the swelling decreases and pain subsides.”
Violence broke out on Sunday evening after a protest march by Jamia students against recent amendments to the Citizenship Act. This ended in a pitched battle with the Delhi Police. Buses were set on fire, and several students and police officers were injured. After the violent clashes, the police allegedly entered the campus without permission and cracked down on students. Later in the evening, the police detained around 100 students, who were released around 3.30 am on Monday.
The police have been accused of using excessive force and even assaulting students.