Delhi University proctor Rajni Abbi said no permission was sought from the authorities to hold the public screening and the authorities sought police help

New Delhi: Twenty-four people were detained from the Delhi University campus on Friday, January 27, after they tried to publicly screen the controversial BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

 Delhi Police has imposed Section 144 on the university campus, banning large gatherings. University authorities said no permission was sought for the mass screening of the banned documentary on campus.

“We have received information that NSUI (National Students Union of India) is planning to screen this documentary at the Arts faculty… No permission has been sought for it. We will not allow such behaviour,”  Delhi University proctor Rajni Abbi as saying.

The authorities called in the police to prevent people from gathering at the Arts Faculty on campus. “ around  20 persons came outside the Arts faculty gate to screen the banned BBC documentary. As it can cause disturbance of peace and tranquillity in the area, they were asked to disperse from there. When they did not, they were peacefully detained,” the newspaper quoted DCP North as saying.

The Delhi University official further said that the university administration will check the identity cards of those who tried to publicly screen the documentary. She said that the matter will be handled by the Delhi Police if anyone from outside stepped into the university to screen the documentary. In the case of university students involved in the matter, the university will take appropriate action, she added.

Similarly, attempts by some student groups to publicly screen the banned documentary on the Ambedkar University campus in Delhi were also foiled. Students alleged that authorities cut off the power supply.

Several student bodies across India – in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chandigarh – have screened the documentary over the last few days, despite university administrations in some cases pulling out all the stops to try and ensure they cannot.

At Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi on Tuesday, the administration allegedly cut off both the electricity and internet to stop the screening, and right-wing students allegedly pelted stones at those gathered to watch the documentary. However, the students went ahead with the screening anyway, watching the BBC’s documentary on their laptops and mobile phones.