The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) witnessed high drama on Tuesday when a student,protesting the rustication of five of his college mates,threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the eighth floor of Library building. An MPhil student (identity withheld on request) climbed to the eighth floor of the library building around 1.30 pm and threatened to jump off. He was demanding revocation of the administrations decision to rusticate five students,including the student union president Sandeep Singh,who were protesting a hike in the price of the JNU prospectus. The student kept the faculty,students and the police on their toes for almost two and a half hours,after which teachers succeeded in persuading him to come down at 4 pm. He later fainted due to shock and was taken to the university hospital,from where he was referred to AIIMS. He is fine at the moment,but needs psychological guidance, said Dr Priyadarshini who attended on him at the university hospital. The administration called the incident undesirable and expressed concern for the student. The student has been saved by concerned teachers. We are worried about him. It is still too early to reach a conclusion. We will wait for his medical report before deciding further, said V K Jain,Dean of Students Welfare. JNU students have been protesting the price hike as well as the administrations decision to open up university space for commercial use.
