On Sunday evening, 24-year-old JNU student Ria Sharma along with a friend decided to visit the National University for Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), a university just a kilometre away from her campus. She went there to find out how she could access its library, but she was in for a shock.

But a private security guard at the gate of the National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT) headquarters, which is also an entrance for the NUEPA, began behaving “aggressively and rudely” after she introduced herself as a JNU student. 

The guard, who belonged to G4S Security Solutions also told her that “he was not allowed to give any information to them.” 

“We were just waiting there outside the gate and we tried to talk to some students who were coming out of the campus. As soon as we started talking, the same guard came and pushed me and my friend away and called us traitors. He also told the other students we were talking with that ‘you don’t know these people, they come from the bastion of traitors.'”, Ria, an MA student, told ScoopWhoop. 

Disturbed by the guard’s behaviour, Ria said she got scared and started crying. 

“We called our friends and went back to JNU. But some of my friends told me that we should go back to NUEPA,” she said. 

When Ria returned to the gate with four friends, the same guard was there and asked why they had come back. 

“We explained the JNU crisis to him and how nothing was proved against any JNU student, but he didn’t listen to anything,” Ria said. 

According to Ria, the guard told her that “not only are you anti-nationals, but the whole JNU institution is traitor”. He also said there was no question of letting them in. 

“Even if you bring the JNU Vice-Chancellor or beat up me with a gun, I won’t let you in. The courts are blind to let you people free,” the guard reportedly told them. 

The other guard who was also present near the scene told us to leave the place, Ria alleged. 

When contacted, an official from the office of NCERT director Hrushikesh Senapaty told ScoopWhoop that they were unaware of the incident. The official suggested speaking to the joint director of NCERT, but the official, BK Tripathi, was unavailable for comment.  

G4S Security Solutions, which employs the guard, said they are aware of the matter. 

“The matter was brought to our attention and we are internally investigating the same,” an official spokesperson of G4S Security Solutions told ScoopWhoop in an email. However, the spokesperson did not specify when the probe would be completed. 

Ria is planning to file a complaint with the NCERT director on Tuesday. She has also brought the matter to the notice of the JNU Students’ Union. 

This is not the first such such nature reported since a group of students were accused of shouting anti-national slogans and three students were arrested. Multiple groups have held protests outside JNU’s gates. 

Many students had stopped wearing the university jackets which had the JNU logo printed on it. Some students had also alleged that autorickshaw drivers had refused to ferry them to to JNU, and that the drivers had even begun to refer to the university as ‘Pakistan’ after the February 9 controversy.  

Feature image source: PTI