Man detained for trying to strangulate JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar

Mumbai: Jawaharlal Nehru University students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday claimed that a man tried to strangle him on a Jet Airways flight. The man identified as Manas Jyoti Deka has been detained in connection with the incident, however, no FIR has been so far registered, said the police.

"A person has been detained for allegedly attacking Kanahiya onboard a Pune-bound flight. The matter is being probed further," a senior police official said.

Later, Kanhaiya was offloaded by the airline citing safety, forcing him to take the road route to Pune. Kumar is off to Pune for a rally along with three other colleagues from JNU.

Being miffed by the undue incident, Kumar tweeted,"Yet again, this time inside the aircraft, a man tries to strangulate me."

The man's attempt to attack Kanhaiya was evaded by his colleagues who were on the same flight, according to All India Students' Federation national president Syed Waliullah Kadri.

"Kanhaiya, I and two others from JNU had boarded the flight from Mumbai. This man suddenly got up and tried to attack Kanhaiya," Kadri claimed.

Following the ruckus, the four approached Mumbai Airport authorities to file a complaint in this regard, but in vain.

Kumar alleged that the Jet Airways staff refused to take any action against the accused after the incident.

Hitting out at the airline further, Kanhaiya also said that it sees no difference between "someone who assaults and one who is assaulted". He appeared to also suggest that the one who is attacked will be "deplaned" by the service provider "if he complains about it".

Being wary of the perpetrator's connection with BJP, Kanhaiya said, "Manas Deka, who works in TCS and is a strong BJP supporter, assaulted me inside the aircraft. Is assault the only tool you have, to fight dissent?"

Meanwhile, Jet, in a statement, said some guests on board flight 9W618, Mumbai to Pune, have been offloaded in the interest of operational safety.

"Some guests on board Jet Airways fight 9W618 from Mumbai to Pune have been off loaded at Mumbai airport in the interest of operational safety. At Jet Airways, the safety and security of our guests and crew is always of prime importance," the spokesman added.

The police has stepped up security measures at Pune airport and the venue of Kanhaiya Kumar's rally scheduled this evening after the alleged attack on him.

Kanhaiya was supposed to be received by representatives of Left-dominated students' organisations at the airport, however, he has not landed in Pune yet. He was scheduled to arrive at Pune airport at 1030 hrs this morning.

Girish Fonde, a students' leader from the organisers of the event in Pune, condemned the alleged assault on Kanhaiya and said they were determined to hold the scheduled meeting at Bal Gandharva auditorium (in Pune) despite the threats.

Police, who insisted on changing the original meeting venue on grounds of security, have asked the students' leader to desist from making "provocative" statements in his address.

The JNU student leader had on Saturday, at an event in Tilak Nagar, came down heavily on the Narendra Modi's dispensation, terming it a "Government of selfies and jumlas" as he pushed for enactment of a law to prevent caste-based prejudice in educational institutions.

Previously, Kanhaiya was also attacked at an event, commemorating BR Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary, in Hyderabad, where an activist had hurled shoe at him. On the same day, his car was attacked by some men reportedly belonging to Bajrang Dal when he arrived in the city.

Kumar was arrested on February 9 on charges of sedition for organizing a pro-Afzal Guru event on JNU campus. The event was organised to deliberate over the issue of capital punishment.

Read: Kanhaiya Kumar faces shoe attack in Hyderabad

His arrest kicked off a furore across the nation, with varied views on nationalism pouring in from different sections of the society. The intelligentsia along with the students of varied university collectively protested the government's take on the issue.