BBC docu screening: Row in Delhi University; 24 detained; 144 imposed

New Delhi: After Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Milia Islamia in the national capital, it is the Delhi University (DU) which makes headlines after students attempted to screen the Centre-banned BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question”.

On Friday afternoon, police detained 24 DU students outside the Faculty of Arts ahead of the screening of the controversial BBC series. Police also imposed Section 144 of CrPC in the area, claiming that the screening could disturb the peace there.

When the students who gathered to watch the screening were asked to clear the area, they refused, and they were detained, India Today reported.

It was the NSUI-KSU which organised the screening, and there were heavy police troops deployed at the university’s north campus.

Further, police entered the Ambedkar University campus also to block a similar screening. Here, it was the Students Federation of India (SFI) which organised the screening. The student’s wing of CPI(M) had made alternative arrangements for students to watch it on personal devices such as phones and laptops. SFI circulated a QR code with a link to the film among students.

The organisation alleged that the administration disconnected the power supply to hamper the screening.

In the meantime, the police said that they are visiting all colleges and universities in the district to keep the peace there.

It was on Tuesday, the Jawaharlal Nehru University witnessed a ruckus over the screening of the documentary, which was banned and rubbished by the Union government. The documentary alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had active hands in staging the 2002 Gujarat riots, which killed hundreds of Muslims. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat then.