BBC documentary row: 4 students detained for creating ruckus outside Jamia

The Delhi Police apprehended four students from a left-wing student organisation on Wednesday for allegedly causing a commotion outside the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University campus in the national capital over the showing of a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the police, the uproar erupted when the Students Federation of India (SFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), announced plans to film the controversial documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The action was launched at the request of the University’s Chief Proctor, following the announcement by students of a documentary screening on campus at 6 p.m.

Azeez, Nivedya, Abhiram, and Tejas are the names of the imprisoned pupils.

The administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi also issued a warning on Monday against displaying the BBC documentary on campus, following the distribution of a flyer inviting students to a screening of the film at the students union’s office at 9 p.m. on Tuesday (January 24).

The JNU Students Union wrote to the university administration in response to the university administration’s firm advise against showing the BBC documentary, noting that they “do not seek to create any form of disharmony” and that their intention is to just view it on campus. The letter further said that pupils who expressed “voluntary interest” would be screened.

Later that night, JNU students marched to Vasant Kunj police station, alleging stone-throwing by ABVP members when the documentary was being presented.

The demonstration was ultimately called off after police informed students that the subject would be taken up and investigated quickly.

In the most recent development, the Delhi Police said that it has launched an investigation into the complaint submitted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students over the alleged stone pelting and “deliberate” power outage that occurred during the documentary showing.
India condemned the BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Modi last week.