The Hindu Raksha Dal has claimed responsibility for the January 5 attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that left numerous students and teachers injured. The armed attackers entered JNU’s campus in masks, and wreaked havoc on the campus, severely injuring many and damaging hostels.

JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh was also seriously injured in the violence that ensued for nearly two hours. Protests have been held across India, condemning the violence at JNU.

Pinky Chaudhary (video above), leader of the fringe outfit, has claimed the Hindu Raksha Dal workers were responsible for the attack. Claiming that JNU students are involved in “desh-virodhi gatividhiyan (anti-national activities),” Chaudhary said. “We will not tolerate this, and anyone who tries to speaks the way they do will get the exact same response from us as they did. In the future we will do this in other universities as well.”

Various messages, videos and identification by the ABVP joint secretary of ABVP members carrying rods on the campus have implicated the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the RSS.

When Chaudhary was asked for reasonable proof that the attackers were, in fact, Raksha Dal workers, his proof was “In the entire country, only our workers have the strength to carry out an action like this, no one else does” and “If I am claiming responsibility, then the responsibility is mine.”

“Let the police come if they want to,” Chaudhary said in an interview to ABP News. A video of the conversation (below) has gone viral on social media.

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