New Delhi: With reports, images of Jamia Millia Islamia students gravely injured after Police resorted to lathi-charge are all over the internet, the police sources claim the Police personnel had only used mild force to push the protestors back.
A scuffle broke out between hundreds of anti-CAA protesters and the police near Holy Family Hospital yesterday that resulted in brutal assault by cops on unarmed students, protestors. The cops further went on to detain nine protestors from the scene.
As many as Twenty-nine protesters injured in the brutal police assault went to Al-Shifa Hospital.
“One girl complained of pain in her private parts; initial investigation revealed there are no external injuries. We have conducted an ultrasound to check if there are internal injuries. The report will come on Tuesday,” said the hospital’s Director Abdul Nazar.
The detained students too alleged they were beaten up — Shaheen Abdulla, a Jamia student, said he was “kicked and punched on the face”, while another student Abu Darda was roughed up by police.
Rubbishing these assault claims, DCP (South East) R P Meena said: “There was no lathicharge. There were male and female personnel present at the site. There was a minor scuffle near the barricades. Nine protesters were detained but later let off. Over 350 Delhi police personnel, including 12 SHOs and eight companies of paramilitary, were deployed at Jamia today.”
Last time a similar march to Parliament was carried out, a student named Shadab Farooq was shot by a juvenile.
Around 2 pm, the march reached Holy Family Hospital where heavy police barricades welcomed them.
The Delhi Police demanded the protestors to return claiming no such permission was granted to the Jamia Organization to hold the protest.
Around 3 pm, the Chief Proctor made an appeal to students to retreat: “You have registered your protest, now please move back. Don’t get into a confrontation with the police.”
DCP Meena told the students: “Please go back. You don’t have permission. Your protest has been registered. If there is a memorandum, please submit it to us. We will submit it to the government.”
When the agitated protesters refused to budge, the police claim to have used “mild force” to push the protestors back following which few protesters fainted due to exertion, while others alleged police brutality.
The scuffle intensified by 6 pm as students refused to budge and a group of protesters gheraoed Sukhdev Vihar police station with Sukhdev Vihar Metro station un operational for sometime.
Additional PRO Anil Mittal said a case is being registered against the “violent crowd” under IPC sections 186, 353, 332 and sections related to damage of property. “Police… showed a lot of patience in handling aggressive Jamia students near Holy Family Hospital…,” he added.