Under fire for his handling of the growing unrest on campus, JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar blames the protesting students for the problem, saying they shut the dialogue down.

As head of an educational institution, Prof Kumar is also trapped in a Catch-22 on whether or not to call the police when things begin to spin out of control.

In a wide-ranging interview to India Today TV, the Vice-Chancellor inferred that the genesis of Sunday's masked attack at the Jawaharlal Nehru University centred around a similar raid two days before on a separate JNU facility.

LINKING ONE ATTACK WITH THE OTHER

Asked about the rod-wielding men who ran amuck on campus, assaulting mainly Left-leaning students on the evening of January 5, Prof Kumar offered no immediate clues about their identity, citing the ongoing investigations.

"For me, as the head of the institution, all my students are the same. I don't distribute them into any camps. But what happened on the 5th also has origins on what happened in the past few days," he insisted.

According to the V-C, his university's communication and information services centre was attacked by around a dozen mask-wearing students on January 3. "They came, abused and forced the technical staff to come out of the CIS premises. They took control of our data centre and shut down the whole thing. I am wondering if the students were protesting and working for a right cause, why they should cover and hide their faces," he said.

The V-C showed the damaged data centre to India Today TV's crew, saying last Friday's attack had paralysed university operations.

"This is the entire nerve centre. All our operations are based on the communications network -- whether I clear the dues of the faculty, the degrees of the students or if I had to give medical support in an emergency case. All such cases will be shut down if this data centre is shut down," he said.

The V-C alleged that the raid on the data facility, which preceded the Sunday assault on the JNU's hostel facilities, appeared malicious and well planned.

"Perhaps, it was a planned attack on the data centre to bring down the university so that no other operations can take place. The very reason that they came with their faces completely masked leaves no doubt that they had some ulterior motives," Prof Kumar said.

Asked specifically about how he responded to the violence that unfolded on Sunday, the V-C admitted it's not easy for someone in his position to call the police in without first assessing the situation.

"I would like to make one thing very clear -- when we call the police, people criticise us for calling it into the educational institution. When we don't call, we are questioned why we didn't. We don't call the police at the drop of the hat," he remarked. "We would first like to assess the situation and see if our security guards can manage the situation. If it goes out of control and there is a real law-and-order situation, only then do we approach the police. And that is what we did."

It took him half an hour to arrive at a decision.

Also read | JNU violence: Delhi Police collects vital leads to identify masked men, claim govt sources

RECOUNTING SUNDAY MAYHEM

"On Sunday, I was right here in the admin block, right from the morning to 4.30, conducting some faculty-selection committee meetings," he recounted. "At around 4.30, we came to know that a large number of students -- about 100-120 students -- were very aggressively moving right in front of the A block towards the other hostels. As soon as we came to know about it, we sent our security to manage the situation. And by about 5 o'clock, it became apparent that the students were aggressive. There was a possibility of physical violence and that is when we contacted the police. And the police did arrive, with the help of security guards."

Probed again about the identity of the Sunday attackers, he said that would only be known once the investigations are complete.

"The Delhi police has formed a committee headed by a joint commissioner. The police team did come to the university. They met us. I spoke to them personally. We will provide all the CCTV footage and all the other evidence we have. Let them investigate and find it out," he said.

NO FULL FOOTAGE OF SUNDAY ATTACK?

The V-C, however, hinted that his technical staff might not be able to retrieve full footage of attackers because of the damage the JNU's data centre had suffered last Friday.

"But let me also add one more thing: you see all over CCTV data is connected to our data centre. Perhaps, the students, who were involved in the data-centre incident, deliberately damaged the data centre so that in future if there's any such incident, CCTVs cannot cover it. And that is what happened on the 5th," he said. "Our data centre was down and many of our CCTVs were unable to capture the data. There seems to be some link between what happened on the 5th and what happened on the 3rd," Prof Kumar added.

DISAPPOINTED WITH STUDENTS

The V-C sounded disappointed with the students opposing him on campus. He said they destroy the possibility of any meaningful negotiations.

Prof Kumar recalled how he was chased by the protesters. "A group of 15-20 people aggressively came running towards me. Immediately, our people formed a ring around. But they tried to put their hands through the ring. They tried to pull me. It took several minutes for the security guards to take me from here to the vehicle. They broke the window of the car. They did not let the car move," he said, upset at how he was treated. "On the one side they say, let's have a dialogue. On the other, they destroy any possibility of having any meaningful discussion."

According to the V-C, the university students had in the past surrounded proctors visiting them for talks, forcing them to retreat. "When our senior wardens met the students for a discussion, they did the same thing. You cannot have a discussion by holding your neck."

"NO BJP AGENDA AT JNU"

Prof Kumar denied accusations that he wouldn't engage with students and faculty.

"Any decision that we take in this university is widely discussed in the statutory bodies, such as the academic and executive councils. Decisions are taken after thorough discussions, be it about starting a new school or a new program or any decision related to hostels. The Vice-Chancellor alone cannot take any decisions. If anybody is saying that, it's a lie."

The V-C also rejected allegations that he was pushing the BJP agenda on the JNU.

"I believe in the concept of working together so that all sections of our country progress and make our country one of the great leaders of the world," he said. "I have always defended my university. It is one of the best central universities. Our faculty have done outstanding work in their research fields. And you can see how our alumni have contributed to our country. I will always defend my university".

Prof Kumar ruled out the possibility of shutting down the JNU temporarily, as some reports earlier suggested. "We have absolutely no plans to close down the university. We want to continue with our academic activities. I don't know from where this news is coming out."