JNU students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya surrender

Jawaharlal Nehru University students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, who are facing charges of sedition, surrendered before the Delhi Police late on Tuesday night after the Delhi High Court directed them to give themselves in earlier in the day.

The two left the campus in a university vehicle escorted by guards around 11:45 p.m. and were take into custody by a police team waiting outside one of the exit gates of the varsity.

Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra confirmed the arrest.

In the morning, Umar and Anirban moved the High Court seeking protection in order to surrender but the court, while directing the students to surrender, adjourned the hearing for protection till Wednesday.

Refusing to grant interim protection against arrest for a day, the Delhi High Court asked Umar and Anirban to inform it about the date, time and place where they wish to surrender.

The five students — Ashutosh Kumar, Anant Prakash, Rama Naga, besides Umar and Anirban – are wanted by the police in a sedition case.

Ashutosh, a former JNUSU president, said: “We have always maintained that we are not going to go anywhere in the campus. We are in the campus, if the police want they can call us for joining the probe. However, none of us have heard from them so far.”