Delhi Police Deny Excessive Force Claims During Jantar Mantar Student Protest, Call Gathering Illegal

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has denied allegations of the use of excessive force against students in the Jantar Mantar protest on July 20 against the NEET paper leak and said that over 30,000 students were present at the event

What did Delhi police say about it?

The Delhi Police had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court declaring that the use of graded force was necessary after the barricades were breached due to the scale of the crowd.

The affidavit was filed as a common reply in four connected petitions seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe into allegations of police excesses during the protest.

The Delhi Police said the protesters were at a stretch of around 3 kilometres and the police force deployed for handling the situation was around 5,000.

The police said the protest started peacefully but turned violent when the demonstrators moved past the police barricade and the crowd became difficult to control.

How many policemen were hurt during the protest?

The force used by personnel was "graded" and, according to police, was "in keeping with the circumstances on the ground.

The police reported that over 240 officers had been injured in the violence and that some 200 protesters sustained injuries as well.

The affidavit also alleged that anti-social elements and history-sheeters have infiltrated the protest and contributed to the situation going out of hand.

The police said they had to deal with the crowd and make sure that the protest was not extended to neighboring areas.

What about pellet guns? 

After the protest, there were a number of reports of the use of pellet guns to break up the crowd.

The Delhi police and the government have rejected the claims of the pellet gun. Last week, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also denied any undue force was used during the protest.

What about the protest?

The CJP had led a 36-day protest over the NEET paper leak at Jantar Mantar.

Activist Sonam Wangchuk was also with protesters and started an indefinite hunger strike.

The agitation had been withdrawn after talks with the government on July 25 following the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, one of the key demands of CJP.