YouTuber Ruchi Tiwari, who was allegedly attacked during a protest at Delhi University’s North Campus on Friday, claimed she was targeted by a mob of nearly 500 people. The victim alleged that the mob turned violent after questioning her caste and identity, with some girls “whispering threats of rape in her ears”.
“The video is everywhere, people can judge for themselves who provoked whom…I am a journalist who was there to cover the protest. One of the media workers said my name to get my attention. I went to them, then they asked my full name and caste,” Tiwari told ANI.
A scuffle broke out between rival groups of students at Delhi University’s Faculty of Arts on Friday, with both sides accusing each other of wrongdoing.
What Tiwari claimed
Ruchi Tiwari claimed that the reason the mob targeted her was because of her caste, reported ANI.
“The whole mob approached me and attacked me. It’s clear in the video. About 500 people attacked me. They only have false narratives and false accusations. The girls around me whispered threats of rape in my ears just because I’m a brahmin; “aaj tu chal, show of weapons tera nanga, niklega,” is what the girls who were holding me by the men told me. This is an attempt to murder, I fell unconscious, but the police did nothing.
She claimed that a man in the crowd signaled to others to take her away, raising fears that they intended to kidnap her. According to her, her clothes were torn and she was touched inappropriately during the incident. Tiwari described those involved in the incident as “idiots” rather than students and claimed that she was targeted because of her caste.
‘YouTuber pushed another…’
Meanwhile, Prasenjeet Kumar, National General Secretary of AISA, alleged that Tiwari had pushed another YouTuber and this had caused the riot.
“Students gathered in support of UGC…It was a peaceful programme. But amidst all this, a YouTuber pushed another YouTuber who is from the Bahujan community and tried to disrupt our programme. They started manipulating our people; our people instead tried to push them aside. There was no fight or manipulation as such,” said Prasenjit.
He further claimed that there was a deliberate attempt to create such an atmosphere.
“Not only in DU, we saw it happen in Allahabad – ABVP people beat up students there. Yesterday in DU, a YouTuber was placed in front and we saw such slogans being raised in front of the police station. This is a ridiculous situation. The police will not take any action. They want to provoke people to end the demonstration across the country. They don’t see people in UGhandle standing. Several such YouTubers are coming to pro-UGC programs and it raises such slogans and pressures people.
ABVP Delhi state secretary Sarthak Sharma said, “The attack on the media, which is considered the fourth pillar of democracy, is very unfortunate. The history of left-wing politics has been marked by incitement to violence and the students of Delhi University have categorically rejected such ideologies. Frustrated by their declining relevance, these groups are resorting to new media coverage tactics. It reflects their true character.”
The ABVP demanded strict action from the Delhi Police and the university administration against those responsible. Meanwhile, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) issued a contrary statement claiming that their members were targeted during the protest.