Aligarh Muslim University appoints student seriously injured in 15 Dec violence as assistant professor on compassionate grounds

The Aligarh Muslim University has decided to appoint research scholar Mohammad Tariq, who suffered severe hand injury during the 15 December violence on the campus, as an ad-hoc assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry on "compassionate grounds".

Tariq belongs to a nearby city of Firozabad from a family of daily wage earners.

File image of Aligarh Muslim Univesity. Image courtesy: www.amu.ac.in

According to his friends, who are now looking after him at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College trauma centre, Tariq is the future breadwinner of his family as he has an aged father, unwell mother and six other siblings to look after.

Asked to get a photograph of him clicked, Tariq refused, saying "I don't want my mother, who is a heart patient, to know the extent of my injuries".

Recalling the sequence of events, which took place on that fateful night, Tariq said, "I do not want to say anything beyond the fact that I was not part of the protest but all that I remember is that I was running at the road near the university guesthouse when I fell down and the rest is blank."

Protests broke out here on 15 December against the citizenship law, with hundreds of AMU students clashing with the police at a campus gate, leading to the university administration announcing closure of the institution till 5 January.

Around 70 people, including students, 20 police personnel and AMU security guards, were injured in the clashes.

According to doctors at the JN Medical College Trauma Centre, Tariq's injury was caused due to an explosion. Medical experts say only a detailed inquiry by forensic experts would help find out the truth.

AMU spokesperson Prof Shafey Kidwai said Tariq is eligible for the post to which he has been appointed as he fulfils all the requirements and the vice chancellor has special powers to appoint him on compassionate grounds.

He will later be eligible for a permanent appointment after going through the normal procedure for such an appointment, Kidwai said.

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