New Delhi, Jan. 20: A JNU professor has been accused of kicking the campus security supervisor during a faceoff over a subject agitating many within and outside the university: dogfeeding restrictions.

The security wing has complained to rector Chintamani Mahapatra’s office that Amita Singh, chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, “kicked” Rajaram on being asked not to feed dogs near the convention centre. Rajaram declined comment.

“On Wednesday, around 6pm, Rajaram requested Prof Singh to feed dogs only in the designated feeding zones as several persons had been bitten,” chief security officer Naveen Yadav said.

“She said she would name the dog she was feeding ‘Rajaram’. While he was calling the security office, the professor, who was standing on a raised platform, kicked his hand. The phone fell and broke.”

Singh denied the charge and accused the private security agency, G4S, of harassing dogfeeders.

“Rajaram had been accosting Jayanti, a campus resident (sister of an employee) who saves money to feed dogs. I came to her rescue. He said (JNU’s) Animal Birth Control Committee chairman Priyadarsi Mukherji (a professor) had ordered him to do this. There’s no such order and misusing private guards to attack dog lovers is goondaism,” Singh said.

Singh, who had led some teachers in calling for a police crackdown on “antinational and illegal activities” at JNU last year, added: “The present administration has placed that obsessed dog hater Mukherji in charge and he is doing everything to kill dogs. I supported these guys (the administration during the sedition row last year) because the other side was bad, but they are now equally bad.”

In an email to vicechancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar yesterday, Singh said: “All dog feeders are women and young girls. Dog feeders are a platform for those who are not with the agitationist, antinational Left and find solace in serving nature. Dog feeders are being banned, harassed, dogs killed, starved to death. This spectre of violence is UNHINDU as well as INHUMAN.”

Mukherji said: “Our primary responsibility is to protect humans on this campus. There have been several incidents of dog bites. A professor’s wife was mauled by six dogs just this month. Visually impaired students are the worst affected.”
Since the February 9 sedition row, the entry of outsiders has been restricted at JNU but many, including alumni, kept coming to feed the dogs. On December 30, the ABC Committee decided to bar outside dog feeders.

“The dogs destroyed 24 peacock eggs in the past three months. A nilgai’s severed leg was left near staff quarters,” Mukherji said.

A journalist had to undergo treatment for rabies after being bitten at JNU last year.

Campus veterinary officer D.K. Yadav acknowledged the dog bite incidents but said no animal census had been done and there was no definitive record of dog bites as several of the victims went to outside hospitals.

“As you can see, the dogs are healthy and there is no adverse impact of the restriction on feeders. Our attempt is to keep them away from buildings where people live or study,” Yadav said.

Yogesh Yadav, convener of the Visually Challenged Students Federation, said: “Almost everyday someone is bitten. When we brought it up with Prof. Singh, she asked us to carry biscuits and throw them to the dogs. This is ridiculous. We had gone on a hunger strike in 2012 against the dog menace but outsiders and students feed dogs right next to the hostels.”

Singh said that dogs used to be fed at 15 designated clusters on the campus since 2011 but their number had recently been slashed to two and the feeders were being stopped. “As a result, dogs are attacking people and other wildlife.”
She said the clusters needed to be increased as even the 15 old clusters were far apart, often separated by more than 1km. “If dogs move into the territory of other dogs, fights occur.”

She said some outside dog feeders, who had lodged a police complaint of assault against JNU security, planned to move court to get it converted into an FIR.

The Animal Welfare Board of India sent a notice to the vicechancellor last month to restore access to dog feeders.