Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities have taken disciplinary action on an average against seven students every month in the last six-and-a-half years for violation of rules, according to an RTI query.
Action was taken and fines slapped for a range of violations such as consumption of intoxicants, not vacating hostel rooms after stipulated time, creating ruckus, getting into brawls with fellow students, blackmailing, using abusive language etc.
Replying to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Delhi-based activist Gopal Prasad, The Central Public Relations Officer’s office of the university informed that from 2010 to June 2016, disciplinary action was initiated on 537 complaints received by the university authorities.
Of these, more than 300 were related to allegations of consumption of alcohol, marijuana and other intoxicants.
Hence, on an average, action was taken against around seven students every month during the said period of six-and-a-half years (78 months).
The complaints were also related to instances of misbehaving with fellow students or the security staff deployed at the university campus under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and other intoxicants.
Usually, the guilty are fined between Rs 1,000 and Rs 6,000 in such cases but there was also an instance when on July 27, 2013, a student was fined Rs 52,000 for consumption of alcohol at Mahi Mandavi Hostel.
It also informed that one student was fined Rs 72,000 for not vacating the hostel room without notifying the authorities even after the stipulated time.
Similarly, three students were fined Rs 1.93 lakh, Rs 1.45 lakh and Rs 1.36 lakh respectively for not vacating hostel rooms in spite of being full-time employees elsewhere.
Two students were fined Rs 1.34 lakh and Rs 87,760 respectively as they were found guilty as per the rules of hostel facilities for married research scholars.
Besides, disciplinary action was taken for staying at the hostel premises after the stipulated time, disturbing peace, creating ruckus and consumption of alcohol with outsiders on campus.
Action was taken against 21 students in connection with the February 9 incident on campus.
Of them, Anirban Bhattacharya was banned for a period of five years from July 25 and Sayeed Umar Khalid was suspended for the monsoon semester of the 2016-17 academic year and fined Rs 20,000.
Another student, Mujeeb Gattu, was suspended for the monsoon and winter semesters of the 2016-17 academic year in connection with the incident that hogged the limelight in the national media and outside, while hostel facilities were withdrawn for the monsoon and winter semesters for Ashutosh Kumar, besides being fined Rs 20,000.
The action was taken against the students in connection with an event on the campus on February 8 where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.
Similarly, hostel facilities were withdrawn for Komal Mohit till July 21, 2016 and a fine of Rs 20,000 each was slapped on Awasthi A Nayyar, Anjali, Anwesha Chakrabarty, Bhavna, Rubina Saifee, Shweta Raj, Aishwarya Adhikari, Gargi Adhikari, Chintu Kumari, Rama Naga, Anant Prakash Narayan and Reazul Haque.