Three days have passed since the July 20 violence in Delhi, but the Delhi Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have yet to acknowledge or address the police excesses that took place during the march to Parliament. Despite several videos surfacing on social media showing police using disproportionate force, including pellet guns, against unarmed men and women, there has been no statement or clarification from the authorities.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned that steps were being taken to safeguard the interests of students, but there was no assurance from the government on probing the police excesses against the protesters. The Delhi High Court has sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police on public interest litigation petitions alleging excessive use of force against demonstrators during the July 20 march.
The court has instructed the authorities to preserve all material connected to the police action, including CCTV footage and video recordings of the incident. Over 100 police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were injured in the incident. Two persons were hit by pellets allegedly fired by RAF personnel and are being treated at government hospitals. One of them, Sahil Lochab, risks losing vision in the right eye due to a pellet piercing his pupil.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Lamba, who was seen in a video slapping a woman on July 20, has been removed from protest-related duties around Jantar Mantar and sent to north-east Delhi. Another video showed a police officer allegedly molesting a woman with a wooden stick. The protesters have denied the police claim that they threw bricks at them, stating that there was no space to move, let alone find loose rocks to throw.
During the hearing before the Delhi High Court, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan alleged that a large number of personnel deployed were either not in proper police uniform or were not wearing name badges, making it impossible to ascertain their identity. He claimed that several personnel were carrying lathis and shock-producing batons, which are not part of the standard equipment prescribed for the Delhi Police or the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
The senior advocates have sought directions for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), registration of FIRs against the policemen allegedly involved, departmental action against them, and a judicial inquiry into the incidents.
