Hindu Raksha Dal claims responsibility for JNU violence, probe underway

New Delhi, Jan 07: Hindu Raksha Dal has claimed responsibility for the brutal attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday night.

Hindu Raksha Dal national convenor Pinki Choudhary in a video said the cadres of his outfit had barged into the university campus on January 5 and perpetrated the attack students and faculty members.

"The University has been a centre of communism-related activities. They abuse our religion and our nation. This would not be tolerated. We will carry out such attacks in the future as well. If our religion and our nation are being disrespected, then how we remain silent?" he said.

"JNU is a hotbed of anti-national activities, we can't tolerate this. We take full responsibility for the attack in JNU and would like to say that they were our workers," he added.

Taking cognizance, the Delhi police said claims made by Hindu Raksha Dal Chief Pinky Chaudhary are being investigated.

A mob of masked young people stormed the JNU campus and brutally attacked students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones, and iron rods.

While the ABVP has drawn brickbats for the JNU violence that left at least 34 injured, including teachers after three terrifying hours, confrontational politics has created unrest in the campuses across the country.

The JNU students union claimed that the ABVP members, with their faces masked, were moving in the campus with lathis, rods and hammers and beating up students. The Union has dubbed it as an emergency situation.

"Students are trying to save themselves while being chased by ABVP goons while the police is complicit in the crimes, forcing students to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogans," the JNUSU said on Twitter.

However, the ABVP claimed that Left activists were behind the violence in JNU.

The attack is a dark reminder of campuses turning into political battlegrounds and losing their academic freedom.