JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar fined, Umar Khalid to lose a session

New Delhi :  On Monday, the JNU fined student leader Kanhaiya Kumar Rs.10,000 over a controversial event on Kashmir in the campus and rusticated students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Mujeeb Gatto.

According to a university order, Khalid and Bhatacharya will lose a semester of their academic session while Gatto has been suspended for two semesters.

The action comes after a probe panel set up by the Jawaharlal Nehru University found them guilty of “misconduct” and “indiscipline”.

Khalid, Bhattacharya and Gatto were found guilty of staging a protest demonstration under the pretext of holding a poetry reading of “A Country Without a Post Office”, the chief proctor said.

Khalid was also fined Rs.20,000, the order said.

Khalid told IANS: “Seems like we have been rusticated. No official communication to us yet from the administration. Just read the press release. It does not mention names but not difficult to guess them.”

Kanhaiya Kumar, the first president of the JNU Students Union from the CPI-affiliated All India Students Federation, was only fined.

The February 9 event led to the arrests of Kanhaiya Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya on sedition charges after it was alleged that participants at the event shouted anti-national slogans.

Delhi Police repeatedly claimed they had evidence against Kanhaiya Kumar and the other students but failed to produce it in court, leading to their release from jail on bail.