After having failed to find any clue of their involvement with Pakistani terror groups, they questioned the arrested JNU student – Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya – to ascertain whether they had any links with the Maoists. Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya had between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,000 in their accounts, said a senior police officer who asked not to be named.
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On 24 February, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested on charges of sedition and were sent to police custody for three days.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had ordered that “confidentiality” be maintained during the remand proceedings of Umar and Anirban, besides Kumar, while directing the police to ensure that no one “suffers even a scratch” and there is no ruckus this time.
Last week, he had sustained minor injuries after being attacked by lawyers at Patiala House Courts Complex.
However, they are yet to get the details of who were the students, teachers and outsiders among them. According to Police Commissioner Delhi B S Bassi, sedition charges were not registered on the basis of hear say, but after finding prima facie evidence.
“The incidents that followed Kanhaiya’s arrest on February 12, the action by the police and the government, are very disturbing”, Lal said.
The police had earlier identified 19 students who allegedly shouted anti-national slogans on campus, but a newspaper report earlier in the week rubbished the claim, saying 16 out of the list of 19 accused had passed out of JNU years ago and some of them were working overseas.
Both the students had surrendered before police in the midnight on Tuesday outside a gate of the university. The police had conducted a joint questioning of Kanhaiya, Khalid and Bhattacharya in the case. The police had said they needed to confront him with Khalid and Anirban in view of discrepancies in their statements.
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The process of transfer will take around two days, he said, adding that the local police district would not be able to put the focus which the case demands as they have to deal with numerous routine law and order affairs.
