On Monday, tens of thousands of agitators marched to Parliament demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated leaks of papers. Protesters brought down barricades and moved closer, forcing the doors to the Parliament complex to be closed for the first time since the Parliament attack in 2001. Commandos took up positions with automatic weapons.
Delhi Police said the planned but unauthorized march was handled “professionally”, but images showed security personnel in full riot gear beating unarmed young protesters.
Vijay Daniel, a protester who came from Hyderabad to participate in the march, said that violence broke out moments before it began. “We were just boarding the bus to leave for the march. I was with Gitanjali ma’am when officials stormed the car and started pushing and beating us,” he said, referring to teacher Gitanjali Angmo, who has been at the forefront of the protest since her activist husband, Sonam Wangchuk, was removed from the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi. Wangchuk’s hunger strike and forced deportation last week galvanized the protest movement.
Daniel said they were forced out and had to run to the protest site to save themselves. “…Some people were already injured, and the police started entering from both sides. I tried to hide under the stage. A doctor helping the injured also hid with me, but they found us, took us out, and then I received a blow on my neck. I fell to the ground. It felt like Jallianwala Bagh… We were surrounded from both sides, and the police attacked us indiscriminately.”
Shivam Navani, 18, a student from Rajasthan, described the confrontation that broke out around the barricades near Parliament. “We had just arrived… when the police attacked me. I was injured while trying to protect two girls who were being beaten. They did not wait or see anything and continued beating. All we were trying to do was walk safely towards Parliament.”
Suhana Khan, 23, a student from Delhi, claimed that uniformed personnel and men in plain clothes were involved in the incident. “We were severely beaten as if we were criminals. There were men in civilian clothes carrying batons. They were accompanied by men in military uniform. They beat us mercilessly and then arrested us. About 30 women were detained together. We contacted lawyers and leaders from political parties for help, but no one showed up.”
David Lal Tungchanjia, 29, a student from Mizoram, disputed police claims that protesters threw stones. “This is what this country has come to. Students and young girls were beaten in their genitals. We were not even allowed to leave the protest site. We did not hit, argue or fight. We just wanted to walk, but they started shooting at them with batons. There were so many sticks that it looked like a hailstorm. Now they say we threw stones. How is this even possible when there are no stones here, and everyone is checked before entering?”
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called for the march to Parliament after a 23-day hunger strike in Jantar Mantar. It was formed after the remarks of Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, in which he referred to some people as “cockroaches” and “parasites”. The CJI maintained that his remarks were not directed at youth but at individuals who entered professions like law and media using “fake and fictitious degrees”.
The CJP garnered millions of followers on social media before it began a sit-in protest on June 6 demanding Pradhan’s resignation. Crowds swelled over the weekend, and by Monday morning, students and young professionals braved heavy barriers to join the protest.
Officials admitted that they underestimated the strength of the gathering. They estimate it to be about 35 thousand. Protesters and eyewitnesses said the number was at least double that. Nearly 2,000 police personnel and 20 companies of paramilitary forces were deployed.
Delhi Police said 118 personnel, including senior officers, were injured. The exact number of injured demonstrators was not immediately known. Reports stated that the wounded may be in the hundreds. Officials at a government hospital confirmed that at least 100 demonstrators were being treated for injuries. Police estimated the number of injured protesters at 60.
Delhi Police said that the demonstrators tried to break several barriers and march towards Parliament despite the restrictions imposed. They claimed that some resorted to stone-throwing, which resulted in the injury of individuals and damage to public property. Police said about 70 protesters were arrested after the confrontation near Janpath and Parliament Street.
