Politics Begin After Delhi Cops Manhandle Protesting JNU Students

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday struck out at Delhi Authorities claiming that it had been getting used under a governmental dispensation that’s at “battle” with pupils in the united states as RSS and BJPis “personal military”.

After initially trying to justify the police action on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students here on January 30, Delhi Police ordered a probe “for necessary action”.

The police suddenly resorted to beating the protesting students with wooden sticks and their fists.

In the video, a constable is seen dragging a woman protester by hair and pushing her down when she remonstrated against the assault on a fellow demonstrator.

Bassi said that special commissioner (law and order) Deepak Mishra will look into the matter and area joint commissioner, SK Gautam has been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. Taking suo motu cognisance of the video, the Delhi Commission of Women has issued a notice to the Delhi Police seeking to know why no women personnel were at the protest site. “I have directed senior officials to investigate the matter and see if there were any indiscretions. We shall also talk to some of the eyewitnesses apart from analysing the content of the video”, Bassi said.

The Congress too joined in condemning the police action against students two days ago, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre of crushing dissent.

The protesting students have been demanding resignations of HRD Minister Smriti Irani and Minister of Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya and Hyderabad University Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile over Vemula’s suicide.

Kejriwal, who is undergoing naturopathy treatment in Bengaluru, condemned the police’s alleged highhandedness, including with women.

“Delhi Police being used by BJP/RSS as their private army to terrorize and teach lesson to anyone opposing BJP/RSS”.

“I strongly condemn attck on students, FTII, Rohith case, Hyd Univ, IITs and now brutal attack on Del students. Modi govt seems to be at war with students all across”, Kejriwal tweeted. A young woman who saw the beating said on Monday they would file an FIR against police. In the video some women constables were clearly though protesting students claimed there weren’t any. He writes, “Most of the news cameras were covering the protestors at the front, where the police was more careful and less aggressive”.

“This kind of police brutality on unarmed students is unacceptable. We will be able to comment on it only after it is over”, he said. Although the security personnel at the gate did not allow me to enter the premises of Keshav Kunj, as the headquarters is formally called, without a “prior appointment”, the Prachar Pramuk, or the chief spokesperson of the organisation in Delhi, Rajiv Tuli told me over phone that they had nothing to do with the protesters getting beaten up.