No screening of film will be allowed without permission: Jamia Univ

NEW DELHI: Hours after the Delhi Police detained four students from a left-wing student organisation of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in the national capital over the screening of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Jamia administration on Wednesday said that no meeting of students or screening of any film will be allowed in the campus without permission. However, security has been strengthened outside Jamia Millia Islamia University after a group of students planned to screen the BBC documentary on PM Modi.

"This is to reiterate that no meeting/gathering of students shall be allowed in any part of the campus including lawns and gates without prior permission of the competent authority, failing which strict disciplinary action shall be taken against the organizers", the university said in a circular.

"All Deans of the Faculties, Heads of the Departments, Directors of Centres are advised to display this notice on all the notice boards of their respective Faculties/Departments/Centres on a priority basis for the information of all students," the circular added.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police detained four students from a left-wing student organisation for allegedly creating a ruckus outside the campus of Jamia over the screening of a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the police, the commotion took place after the Students Federation of India (SFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) announced that it will organise a screening of the controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled 'India: The Modi Question.'

The action was initiated on the request of the Chief Proctor of the University after the students had announced the screening of the documentary on the campus at 6 pm. The detained students have been identified as Azeez, Nivedya, Abhiram, and Tejas.

On Monday the administration of the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi also warned against screening the BBC documentary on the campus after a group of students released a pamphlet inviting students to a screening of the film at the students union's office at 9 pm on Tuesday (January 24). The JNU Students Union wrote to the university administration over its firm advisory against the screening of the BBC documentary stating that they "do not seek to create any form of disharmony" and their purpose is to only watch it on the campus.

It also mentioned in the letter that the students with "voluntary interest" would take part in the screening. Later in the night, the JNU students marched toward Vasant Kunj police station claiming stone pelting by members of ABVP while the said documentary was being screened. The protest was later called off after the police assured students of taking up the matter and looking into it immediately.

In the latest development, the Delhi Police said that it has begun an inquiry on the complaint lodged by students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) against the alleged stone pelting and "deliberate" power outage that took place during the documentary screening. Last week, India denounced the BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Modi.