Authorities in Aligarh have banned mobile internet in the city including the campus of Aligarh Muslim University until 12 noon on Thursday. This was after representatives of Arnab Goswami’s Republic TV were engaged in a scuffle with AMU students following their allegedly provocative broadcast from the campus.
According to a new circular, the district administration of Aligarh has ordered the internet provider companies to ban mobile internet in the city starting from 2 pm on Wednesday till 12 noon on Thursday. 
The order to ban mobile internet services followed an FIR filed against at least 14 students of Aligarh Muslim University for Tuesday’s scuffle. Shockingly, these 14 students have also been booked under sedition charges.
Explaining the rationale to book 14 students for sedition, Aligarh SP Ashutosh Dwivedi told Janta Ka Reporter that this was because these students were accused of shouting Pakistan Zindabad, India Murdabad slogans. He, however, admitted that there was no evidence to support these allegations. He said, “We’ve asked the AMU administration to give us the CCTV footage, which we hope to receive by today (Wednesday).”
Reacting to the filing of FIR under sedition charges, local student Sharjeel Usmani tweeted, “9 charges including Sedition against 14 AMU students. No action on the complaint filed by us.”
9 charges including Sedition against 14 AMU students. No action on the complaint filed by us.@iamrana @asadowaisi @khan_zafarul @khanumarfa @MahtabNama @RifatJawaidhttps://t.co/cdGX0AF9am pic.twitter.com/6OGT5DPny5
— Sharjeel Usmani (@SharjeelUsmani) February 12, 2019
Usmani, who was witness to the allegedly provocative broadcast by Republic TV representatives on Tuesday, also took to social media to inform about the attack on an MA Political Science student Mohammed Arif Khan ‘near Chungi gate.’ He wrote, “He has been beaten with rod, and baseball bats as the injuries suggest and is still unconscious. Don’t leave the campus, people.”
On Tuesday, two Republic TV representatives, identified as Nalini Sharma and Sumaira Khan, were accused of describing the AMU as ‘the university of terrorists.’ This had evoked angry reactions from the students on the campus. Aligarh SP Ashutosh Dwivedi had later told Janta Ka Reporter that the two women did not have permission to broadcast live from inside the campus, let alone making extremely provocative remarks during their live broadcast.
Meanwhile, a video footage captured by a student shows Sharma doing a live broadcast on an issue, which was completely unrelated to the AMU. This, according to local students, was a part of Republic TV’s plan to cause unrest in an already sensitive campus ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. In the video below, Sharma is seen reporting on Akhilesh Yadav being stopped from boarding a plane at the Lucknow airport from Aligarh even though there was no editorial justification for this broadcast from the AMU campus.
The below video clip completely exposed @republic & @nalinisharma_ . Security person was requesting them to sought permission and shameless Nalini was continuously reporting the Allahabad Univ issue from AMU Campus. She was not even listening to the request. pic.twitter.com/Zm7UKFllx9
— Shamshir (@shamshir_gaya) February 13, 2019
This video clearly exposes the dangerous plan by Arnab Goswami’s channel, which was founded with the help of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrsekhar in 2017, to cause unrest on the campus of the AMU ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
This is not the first time that the AMU has been targeted by the country’s right-wing brigade. Ahead of the Kairana by-polls, the university had gained considerable media limelight over a portrait of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. However, the issue died a natural death after the issue did not help the BJP’s cause and the saffron party lost its parliamentary seat in Kairana.