New Delhi: A major uproar erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University's Dr B.R. Ambedkar Central Library on Friday after students, led by the JNU Students' Union, uprooted and discarded the newly installed face recognition system, alleging it violated their privacy.

There was no official response from the JNU administration.

Videos on social media showed students breaking and dismantling the devices while chanting “Lal Salaam”. Security personnel tried to intervene, but protests escalated into heated arguments as the equipment was damaged.

JNU Students' Union General Secretary Sunil Yadav alleged the devices were “secretly installed” during the student union election period, even though the committee formed to review the issue had not submitted its report.

He said the library already struggled with inadequate seating, broken furniture, poor water facilities and the absence of a proper reading room.
“Instead of improving basic infrastructure, the administration is violating student privacy under the guise of this system,” Yadav said.

Joint Secretary Danish Ali claimed the administration had attempted to install the system earlier but halted it following protests. She said students were fined between Rs 15,000 and Rs 19,000, and one student was suspended for a semester during previous demonstrations.

Ali said that despite meeting the librarian and registrar, the administration did not provide transparency and “the students' perspective was never considered”.

A JNU official said the administration has taken the damage to public property seriously and sought a security report on the incident. “Strict appropriate action will be taken after the report is received,” the official said.