Masked goons attack students in JNU

New Delhi: Violence broke out at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, prompting the administration to call in police which conducted a flag march.

At least 18 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours.

The violence drew strong reactions from opposition parties which hit out at the BJP and accused "those in power" of trying to scuttle the voice of students.

Senior Union ministers and JNU alumni S Jaishankar and Nirmala Sitharaman swiftly condemned the incident.

Sitharaman asserted that the government wants universities to be safe spaces for all students. The Home and HRD ministries sought reports from Delhi Police and JNU administration, respectively.

Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi Police chief and enquired about the situation at JNU. Sources said the violence started at around 5pm.

The JNU administration said, "masked miscreants armed with sticks were roaming around, damaging property and attacking people" and that police had been called in to maintain law and order.