Millennium Post

2 JNU students fall ill during hunger strike

They were admitted to AIIMS but refused treatment to continue their strike

Two Jawaharlal Nehru University students participat­ing in an ongoing indefinite hunger strike on the campus were admitted to AIIMS on Monday after falling ill but they refused treatment to continue their protest, officials said.

The Health Centre of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) referred the students to All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi after their health deteriorat­ed due to the hunger strike.

The strike entered its eighth day on Monday with students protesting against purported unresponsi­ve attitude of the administra­tion over their charter of demands since August 11.

“The two students have signed a document of leave against medical advice (LAMA) and refused to get treatment. We had referred them to AIIMS after accessing their health condition,” said Fouzia Firdous Ozair, Chief

Medical Officer of JNU..

When contacted over the matter, JNU Vice-chancellor Santishree D Pandit said, “They have taken responsibi­lity, refused treatment and signed the LAMA document. So JNU administra­tion has informed their parents that, as adults, they have refused medical treatment.”

The protesting students of JNU have been demanding an increase in the merit-cummeans (MCM) scholarshi­p to at least Rs 5,000, the opening of Barak Hostel, which has remained non-operationa­l since its inaugurati­on in February, and the revocation of the Chief Proctor’s Office (CPO) manual which penalises protests on campus with fines up to Rs 20,000. Their demands also include reinstatem­ent of the Gender Sensitisat­ion Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), and the withdrawal of proctorial inquiries initiated against students.