In an unexpected turn of events, Jamia Milia Islamia on Monday evening decided to provide legal help to its two students arrested for alleged connection in Saturday’s serial blasts across the Capital.Mohammad Shakeel, a second-year MA student, and Zia-Ur-Rehman (third year BA) were arrested on Sunday. Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan told Newsline in the evening that he would take steps to look into the “well being” of his students.Jamia’s media coordinator Rakhshanda Jalil told Newsline, “The university has now decided to provide legal help to the two students caught on Sunday.” Since the two are students of Jamia, “the university feels it is a responsibility to safeguard them until they are proven guilty.”The announcement came soon after the university had announced suspension of Shakeel and Rehman. A large section of the faculty and students’ community in the university was earlier rumbling over the varsity authorities’ refusal to take a stand on the arrests. What made matters worse, several teachers and students said, was the fact that the university does not have a students’ union.“Jamia does not have a students’ body that can fight for the students’ rights,” an agitated professor had told Newsline this morning. “After Friday’s encounter, no one can now speak openly about the students, or the incident at Jamia Nagar, since they feel they might be the next target of the police, in which case the university will not come forward to help them. “Everyone is afraid of a crackdown.”The teachers and students were concerned about the fact that on Saturday the university had refused to acknowledge that the two were studying at Jamia. On Friday morning, Jamia had issued a statement saying, “On the basis of prima facie information the University will consider initiating disciplinary action against these students.” Asked why the university did not immediately come out and say Shakeel and Rehman were enrolled in the university, media coordinator Jalil said the police never contacted the university directly. “All our information was filtered from the media,” she said. As for Atif, “we could not verify him earlier because he was enrolled under the name of Mohammad Atif Amin.”Jamia will hold a peace march in and around the areas surrounding the university at 4 pm on Wednesday. Students, teachers, staff members and residents of Jamia Nagar are expected to join the peace rally.
