New Delhi: A day after clashes erupted during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Rahul Gandhi presented alleged victims of police action before the media on Wednesday, accusing the Centre and Delhi Police of brutalising young demonstrators. Among them was a Keralam student who said she could no longer hear from one ear.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was flanked by NSUI leaders and other young protesters as he presented their accounts of the October 13 detention and alleged assault. He said Athira, an NSUI worker from Kerala studying at Delhi University, had suffered a lasting injury after being hit near her ear.
“Athira from Kerala has lost her hearing in one ear. She is deaf in one ear because she was struck on that ear. She can no longer hear. Last time I showed you a boy who was blinded. Now, she is deaf in one ear,” Gandhi claimed.
‘No Female Officer On Bus’
Athira told reporters that she and other women were detained without a woman police officer being present in the vehicle. She said she raised the issue at the time, arguing that the presence of at least one female constable was mandatory during the detention of women, as reported by South First.
“Yesterday, when they detained us, there were no female police officers on the bus. So, I simply asked, ‘Where is the lady police officer or lady constable?’ If they want to detain us, having at least one female constable present is mandatory,” she said.
She alleged that the bus later halted outside the Connaught Place police station, where policemen assaulted her and struck her repeatedly near the face. According to her account, the blows caused injuries to her eye and one ear.
Athira also alleged that she was slapped repeatedly, kicked in the chest and struck in her private parts. “When I begged them to stop, they kicked my private parts, my abdomen and back. I don’t know why they did that, they did not even consider me as a human,” she said.
Another NSUI leader who addressed the press conference named a woman constable, Chanchal Yadav, and accused her of assaulting her. Introduced by Gandhi as “our sherni”, she alleged that the constable seized her by the neck, forced her onto a seat, scratched her face and the area near her ear with her fingernails, and slapped her when she resisted.
Other young protesters who spoke at the event described similar alleged violence. One said several policemen beat him and asked why “his leader Rahul Gandhi” had not come to save him. He also alleged that the personnel took out their frustration over the extra workload caused by the protest on the detained students.
United Voice
Gandhi used the press conference to frame the protesters’ accounts as part of a broader political confrontation, insisting that the demonstration represented a united voice rather than any sectional interest.
“As I said in my press conference, this is India. Amit Shah ji, take a good look at this. There is no Hindu here, no Muslim, no one of any specific caste; there is no woman, no man. There is one voice, one protest. It is the voice of India, and you are standing against this voice — the Prime Minister is standing against this voice. I suggest to you: do not stand against this voice,” he said.
He also urged the students to document any further alleged excesses and said the material would be used to pursue accountability once the matter had run its course.
“No one can stand against this voice. To the police personnel, I have told all the students to keep a video record and send that evidence to us. When this entire matter concludes, we will utilize all that evidence and ensure that everyone who needs to be punished is punished, from PM Narendra Modi, Gyanesh Kumar, Amit Shah, and even the constable who is raising a hand against our children….” Gandhi added.