According to police officials, approximately 400–500 students gathered on campus to protest issues including the implementation of University Grants Commission regulations, the rustication of JNUSU office-bearers, and remarks attributed to Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit. Around 3:20 pm, protesters moved toward the main gate and attempted to proceed toward the ministry, but police stopped them at the North Gate and pushed them back inside the campus after tensions escalated.
Police alleged that barricades placed outside the campus were damaged during the confrontation and claimed protesters threw banners, sticks, and shoes while engaging in physical assault. Officials stated that several officers, including senior personnel such as ACP Ved Prakash, ACP Sanghamitra, SHO Atul Tyagi, and SHO Ajai Yadav, were among those injured. An FIR was subsequently registered at Vasant Kunj North police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to obstruction and assault.
Authorities detained 51 protesters, including JNUSU president Aditi Mishra and former president Nitish Kumar. Police rejected allegations of misconduct, stating that officers acted solely to maintain law and order and denied claims that protesters were manhandled. However, students maintained that police used disproportionate force and said several demonstrators, including women, were injured during the action. The JNU Teachers Association criticised what it described as a “brutal use of force” and raised concerns that some detainees were taken to unspecified locations.
Student representatives also alleged that a portrait of B R Ambedkar was damaged during the police action, though circulating videos of the incident could not be independently verified. The university administration stated that students had been clearly informed that demonstrations were permitted only within campus boundaries and emphasised that demands related to UGC regulations were outside the authority of the university leadership, particularly since the Supreme Court had issued a stay on those regulations. Security presence remains heightened in and around the campus following the clashes.
