A day after the Janta Cockroach Party called off its protest at Jantar Mantar, a video surfaced on social media showing a man confronting and beating students who reportedly attended the protest.
The man in the video, as shared by several politicians including Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamul MP Mahua Moitra, has been identified as Satyam Pandit, a Hindutva nationalist said to be based in Ghaziabad.
In the video, which has now gone viral on social media, the man is seen wearing a white kurta and saffron scarf, interrogating two female students. He is heard asking them who they support and what their names are.
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When one of the students answered that they were Hindus, the man asked them why they supported “this party (apparently the Cockroach Janta Party)” which, he said, was raising “anti-national students.”
The man was also heard verbally cursing at the students before he proceeded to grab one of them by the collar and hit him, even as he tried to defend himself. He then forces the student to look into the camera and apologize before threatening to beat him up if he is seen near the protest site again.
“Dekhega aaj ke bad? Marunga faded (Will you see after this? I will hit you),” the man is heard saying in the video, which is filled with verbal abuse.
It is not known whether the students in the video are minors or adults and when the video was filmed. HT was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Also read: ‘She may not follow her father…’: Assam minister’s daughter joins NEET protests; CM Himanta reacts
How did politicians react?
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, while sharing the video, called for the immediate arrest of the accused and said that the BJP members are “not loyal even to their promises”.
“Let everyone witness the misbehavior of BJP and its allies, their vile words, and violence. Look at their audacity: It has been just hours since the promises were made to the youth, and BJP members are repeating their historical betrayals through deception once again. These so-called intellectual BJP leaders are brazenly tearing apart the assurances made by their top leadership and even making videos of it. Is this also happening because of the clash of twin engines?” Yadav wrote on X.
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“BJP: The antithesis of trust!” He added.
TMC’s MP Mahua Moitra also shared the video and wrote: “This rabid, foul-mouthed animal named Satyam Pandit needs to be picked up by @Delhi Police ASAP and booked. Otherwise we will file an FIR.”
Dharmendra Pradhan resigns after student protests
The Janta Cockroach Party, founded and led by Abhijit Debke, sat on a 36-day protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET-UG papers leak. Protests took place across the country echoing this demand.
On Saturday, the government responded to the students’ protests and Pradhan resigned from his post. Pralhad Joshi, Consumer Affairs Minister, has been given additional charge in the Education Ministry after Pradhan’s resignation.
The AKP canceled its protest on Saturday after they said their demands had been met.
