Allegations of police violence and arbitrary detention in Delhi protests, lawyers narrate their ordeal

Allegations of police violence and arbitrary detention in Delhi protests, lawyers narrate their ordeal

Amid the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, several lawyers in Delhi have alleged that the police arbitrarily detained and beat them during the protests on Saturday and Sunday.

After the police action against the protesters, an urgent hearing was held in the Supreme Court on Sunday. The court directed the authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations outside the restricted areas.

The court said that the government has assured that lawyers and journalists will not be stopped from doing work related to their profession.

However, five lawyers, speaking to the BBC, described their experiences of being beaten and detained by the police. Some of these lawyers were detained even after the Supreme Court order.

On Saturday morning, about 70 lawyers had gathered outside the Supreme Court wearing the bands and gowns of their profession. Their intention was to march till Jantar Mantar.

Senior advocate Nandita Rao, who was part of this group, said that the police stopped them near Mandi House. "A peaceful demonstration by lawyers in uniform outside the Supreme Court for fair and free elections was stopped by the police and we were detained without any reason," Rao told the BBC.

Nandita Rao was not physically injured, but described her detention as "quite humiliating".

The group of lawyers was taken to Yamuna Sports Complex in a police bus. When news broke that the Chief Justice of India had intervened in the lawyers' detention, Rao and the others were released within an hour.

Rao said, "We were not doing anything illegal. Expressing dissent is not a crime. The Supreme Court has said that fundamental rights are not a gift given by the government. They are the responsibility of the government."

Advocate on record Subhash Chandran KR, who was detained with the same group, alleged that police officials beat him with batons. “Everyone, from the youth to the elderly, was mistreated,” he said. He told that some of the policemen who detained him were not wearing mandatory name tags on their uniforms.

Chandran also mentioned a disturbing incident involving a female protester. A formal complaint has been made to the Delhi Police Commissioner.

According to the written complaint seen by the BBC, the police forcefully pushed the girl into the bus. This opened the buttons of his shirt. When she sought help from female policemen, it is alleged that the police officers refused to help.

Meanwhile the bus driver started making his video. The complaint alleges that the policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, "watched the scene" and ignored appeals for help. After this the detained lawyers got off the bus in protest.

As the day progressed, police action seemed to become more intense across the city.

On Saturday evening, a video of senior advocate Shadan Farasat being taken away by several policemen holding his hands and legs and his shirt being torn went viral on social media.

Farasat told the BBC that he was standing near the Safdarjung flyover. There the police started detaining the people who had gathered for the protest. Leader Yogendra Yadav was also included in these. When he tried to intervene, police officers immediately caught him.

"The police were picking up, holding and throwing people. It's not just me. They were treating everyone on the street like this," Farasat said.

Instead of being taken to a formal detention center, Farasat and about a dozen students were put in a police bus and dropped off on the roadside several kilometers away.

Young lawyer Fiddle Tom was detained from INA Market area in the afternoon. He was taken to Sanjay Colony police station of Maidan Garhi.

He alleges that he saw a man dressed in plain clothes beating a student protestor inside the police station and protested against it.

"I asked him where his uniform was and who gave him the authority to beat people up," Tom said.

In response to this, it is alleged that the person grabbed Tom by the neck and dragged him to a place where there were no CCTV cameras.

"They threw me on the ground and about 10 policemen started beating me. One police officer kicked me in the face five or six times with his shoe," he said.

A medico-legal certificate (MLC) from Safdarjung Hospital, issued at 3 am on Sunday and seen by the BBC, corroborates his claim.

The medical report stated that "the multiple injuries were probably caused by repeated blows from a blunt object."

Tom told that the police officers asked him for the phone password. When he refused, it is alleged that a police officer in uniform sat on him and forcibly unlocked the phone with the help of his fingerprints by twisting his hands.

After this he was kept in a room where one of the accused was kept chained. उन्हें रविवार रात 2 बजे ही रिहा किया गया।

BBC tried calling Sanjay Colony police post to get a comment. But the phone number given publicly for the police post was found switched off.

Advocate Karishmit Keswani told the BBC that he was assaulted by a police officer at Mandi Marg police station. He had gone there at 7:30 pm to provide legal aid to some detained protesters.

"He pushed me and held my hand. I told him clearly that as a legal professional he cannot touch me," Keswani told the BBC.

An officer of Mandi Marg police station denied these allegations. He claimed that there was no violence in the police station and the constable against whom the allegations were made was on patrolling duty.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) announced to observe a minute's silence in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the court premises on Tuesday afternoon. The SCBA has said lawyers will wear white ribbons in support of fellow lawyers facing police misconduct.

सोमवार दोपहर दिल्ली हाई कोर्ट में भी कई वकील जुटे। उन्होंने संविधान की प्रस्तावना का पाठ किया।

Karnataka State Youth Lawyers Forum has also announced a demonstration near the High Court in Bengaluru on Tuesday afternoon against the alleged illegal arrest of lawyers and students in Delhi.