Updated

New Delhi, Feb 15 (NDTV): Teachers and students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University or JNU and journalists were attacked and threatened at a Delhi court today as dozens of policemen watched. The violence erupted just before a JNU student arrested for sedition was to be produced before a magistrate.

On camera, a large group of lawyers in black jackets is seen manhandling people while slogans of "Long Live India, Down With JNU" are heard in the background. The policemen did nothing to stop the unruly group.

A BJP lawmaker, OP Sharma, was also seen attacking a person believed to be a student of JNU outside the court.

A lawyer was seen thrashing and kicking a person as teachers and students were attacked and forced to leave the courtroom. Journalists were also beaten severely, threatened and their mobiles were snatched.

NDTV's Sonal Mehrotra, who was also caught in the crossfire, said the lawyers came when everyone was sitting peacefully and kept asking "Are you from JNU?". They grabbed people they assumed were from JNU and started beating them up unprovoked. "I am not from JNU but just because I look like one with my jacket, they beat me up," said one person who was attacked.

Journalists were shaken and many of them reported the incident in torn clothes.

The clashes took place just before arrested student Kanhaiya Kumar was to be produced. Mr Kumar, the chief of the JNU students' union, was arrested on Friday by plainclothesmen on campus for allegedly participating in the Afzal Guru event on February 9, in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.

The Left and other opposition parties like the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have called the sedition charge excessive and demanded the student's release.

Students have refused to attend classes at the prestigious university over the arrest. Some 500 teachers of the prestigious university have also decided to go on strike.

Earlier Report

JNU row: Delhi Police begins probe into 'Hafiz Saeed' Twitter handle

New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI): Delhi Police on Sunday initiated a probe into the now-defunct Twitter handle in name of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba chief Hafeez Saeed, on which a message was posted in support of the JNU student stir that prompted it to issue an alert.

“We got to know that the Twitter handle has been deleted. We have initiated a probe into the matter, starting with tracking the handler, who can also be charged with sedition in view of the contents posted,” a senior officer said.

Special commissioner of police (operations) Sundari Nanda, who monitors Delhi Police’s Twitter handles, said, “When the tweet was brought to our notice, we issued the alert based on its content which was found to be anti-national. We checked the particular Twitter handle and most of its tweets and activities were found to be anti-national. No matter who the handler was, the content was threatening,” she said.

The alert was issued by one of Delhi Police’s official twitter handles on Friday.

The handle -- #HafeezSaeedJUD, says, “We request our Pakistani brothers to trend #SupportJNU for our pro-Pakistani JNUite brothers.”