New Delhi: A Uttarakhand Police constable arrived at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and addressed those gathered at the CJP-led student demonstration over the NEET paper leak. While a delegation of the CJP was in conversation with the government, Sher Singh took stage at the protest site and claimed that he had resigned from the service to join the agitation.
Speaking to ThePrint at the protest site, Singh claimed he had resigned around 15 days ago, although his resignation had not yet been accepted.
“I had resigned 15 days ago. It has not been accepted yet, so I took leave and came here. Three of my sisters came to this protest and were injured…When it comes to saving the country, losing one’s job is a small thing,” he said.
Hours later, the Uttarakhand Police said Singh had been suspended earlier this week for unauthorised absence and that departmental as well as legal proceedings for being hand-in-glove with a gangster were already underway against him.
Kumaon Range Inspector General Nivedita Kukreti issued a video statement disputing Singh’s claims and detailing the disciplinary action against him.
According to Kukreti, Singh had been unauthorisedly absent from his posting in Pithoragarh district since 28 June. After he failed to respond to a notice issued by the Superintendent of Police, he was suspended on 20 July.
Education and corruption
Talking about the protesters who had been injured at the demonstrations, Sher Singh criticised the government’s handling of unemployment and recruitment, referring to alleged widespread corruption in recruitment examinations in Uttarakhand.
“The exam papers are available at the parchun shop. The Patwari has papers to sell and the forest officers have papers to sell. Where are they getting access to these papers?” he claimed.
Asked about political parties extending support to the protest, Singh said leaders should support the movement without attempting to appropriate it politically.
“There is a parliamentarian, Chandrashekhar Azad. He didn’t come to this stage. He went to Parliament and spoke there. This is how politics should be. Others come here, give speeches and take photographs,” he said.
When asked whether he would support if members of the CJP were to enter electoral politics in future, Singh said politics was “not a bad thing” and said he would like to see people such as Sonam Wangchuk in Parliament.
“The one who can sacrifice his life for the country can also do good for the people,” he said.
Singh also addressed demonstrators from the CJP stage at Jantar Mantar, delivering a speech that sharply criticised the government while repeatedly urging protesters to remain peaceful.
Addressing the Delhi Police personnel deployed at the venue, he said they too were “children of farmers and labourers” and appealed to them not to act against protesters.
He also called for a common education system.
“If India could have One Nation, One Tax then it could also have uniform education.” he said
He even accused the government of labelling dissenters according to their identity, alleging that Dalits, OBCs, Muslims, and Sikhs who spoke out were branded with derogatory labels.
Invoking Bhagat Singh, Singh said, “Revolution comes through ideas, and ideas never die”, while urging protesters not to resort to violence and instead “send them packing through our votes.”
Also read: CJP protesters are now carrying brooms. To tackle the garbage crisis at Jantar Mantar
‘Prior criminal history’
In her video statement, IG Nivedita Kukreti further said that Singh was already facing dismissal proceedings and had a criminal case pending against him.
“The constable has a prior criminal history. He and another colleague were involved in organised crime in connivance with a notorious gangster, Praveen Valmiki. They used to intimidate innocent people and seize their land. He was arrested and sent to jail on 15 January 2025,” she said, revealing that he had already spent several months in jail and was currently out on bail.
She added that legal as well as departmental action was being taken over what she described as his “baseless statement” at the protest.
Singh’s remarks came days after the Delhi Police’s heavy-handed response during the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on Monday.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)