Lawfare, General – Others

The Azim Premji University has filed a complaint with the police against its own students who are in charge of the Spark Reading Circle APU, accusing them of instigating trouble at the university and repeatedly “defaming” the university.

APU Registrar Rishikesh BS filed a complaint with the Sarjapura police on February 24, the day ABVP members forcibly entered the university over a planned discussion on alleged violence in Kashmir. The complaint names the Spark Reading Circle APU Instagram account.

Rishikesh said in his complaint that on February 24, social media posts regarding an event on that day at Kabira, an open space on campus to cultural events, were brought to his attention.

The organisers of the event, Spark Reading circle APU, had created a post that said that Kunan-Poshpora, villages in Kashmir, saw “one of the most gruesome incidents of mass rape” on February 23, 1991, allegedly by army men and that not a single conviction had taken place.

He said that when he asked faculty members about such an event, none of them had any information because “if any such event is to be held written permission has to be sought, but no such permission was sought or given”.

Rishikesh said that soon after this, a group of people forcibly entered the university campus and vandalised property in several areas, raised slogans and wrote graffiti against Spark Reading circle and AISA. The police then removed them from campus, the Registrar said. A complaint regarding this was filed with the police.