New Delhi: Over 10 days after a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) turned violent during a march towards Parliament, families of injured Delhi Police personnel have called on lawmakers to address the working conditions and safety of officers deployed at protest sites.
The violence during ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on 20 July to demand action over the NEET UG 2026 paper leak and Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister had left multiple protesters and police personnel injured.
At a press conference at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi Friday, family members of the officers said that the injuries suffered by police personnel had been overlooked.
“There is a narrative that it was the students who were protesting, and that the police personnel resorted to brutality. But this is only one side,” said Seema, the wife of an ASI-rank officer.
The officers and their families are hoping for a discussion on police injuries in Parliament, she added. “There should be talks on how police were injured. Cognisance should be taken… They are the same police personnel who are deployed in protecting Parliament and the country, and we hope this issue is taken up in Parliament.”
The families claimed that more than 250 police personnel across different ranks were injured during the protest, and more than 110 barricades, more than 300 body protectors, more than 350 helmets and more than 25 police vehicles were damaged. New Delhi district police officers also told ThePrint that around 250 personnel suffered injuries.
More than 100 protesters were injured when security forces used batons and tear gas during the march to Parliament, according to police.
‘Slippers, shoes, plant pots, stones used to attack police’
Seema, who was surrounded by the family members of other police personnel, recounted what allegedly happened on 20 July when her husband was posted at Jantar Mantar.
She said her husband, a policeman for 33 years who had joined the force as a constable, had left home as usual that morning. “On 20 July, he too had left with his tiffin early in the morning. At 11 am, I spoke to him. He told me the crowd is swelling and the protesters are planning to go to Sansad. As the wife of a police personnel, I told him to take care. And then, I did not speak to him for a while.”
When her husband called her at around 7 pm, she learned that he was being treated at LNJP Hospital. “He told me the crowd flared up, and there were anti-social elements too.”
She said he told her that “slippers and shoes, plant pots and stones were used to attack the police”.
“I was extremely stressed. He came home late at night at 11 pm, and told me the barricades were broken, and the police were beaten up. Even his helmet was broken. If a stone had been pelted then, he wouldn’t have made it.”
‘Father was injured, unconscious at hospital’
Alongside Seema was Kunjan, a Delhi University student whose father is an SI posted at the protest site on the front line at the barricades. He was a marine commander in the Indian Navy before he joined the Delhi Police.
Kunjan claimed that on 25 July her father was pulled by a mob and was unconscious at the hospital. “I saw him at 10 pm that day. There was blood all over, even on his uniform. It was painful. He told me, ‘When you’re on duty, such things happen’,” she said.
Later, Kunjan said she saw multiple social media posts. “I saw people had already declared him a criminal.”
Lakshya Singh Bisht, whose father is an ACP-rank officer with four Gallantry awards, said his father suffered severe head injuries during the clashes.
“My father, too, was posted at Jantar Mantar. On 25 July, we got to know he had severe head injuries. His head was completely shaved, and he had stitches. I was scared,” he said at the press conference. “When he reached home, he told me that apart from students, there were many rowdies who wanted to create chaos. When they began pelting stones, my father was trying to safeguard officers… one such stone hit his head, and his head almost exploded.”
“There aren’t any conversations happening in Parliament regarding what had happened. I got to know the aggressors filed applications against the injustice that happened to them. So, we too have filed a plea,” he added.
Similar concerns were shared by Upneet Kaur, whose husband is an ACP-rank officer. She said that when he returned home on 20 July, he was injured.
“Behind a police officer, it is not just an officer. There is a wife, child, parent, and a family waiting,” she said.
No adverse action against protesters
The protest was called off after Pradhan’s resignation on 25 July. Withdrawal of cases against protesters was a key demand of the CJP during talks with the government to call off the protest.
The Supreme Court, however, allowed police to continue with their probe and act against those with criminal records.
On Thursday, the Delhi Government’s Home Department issued an order regarding 13 cases registered by Delhi Police in connection with the CJP protest.
The order, issued with the approval of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, stated that no adverse legal action will be taken against those who were part of the stir, except individuals with criminal records.
The order added that in any arrests and detentions made in these cases, the process for “reviewing the arrests and releasing the arrested persons will be undertaken expeditiously”.
The order, issued by Principal Secretary (Home) Santosh D. Vaidya, comes amid similar steps by several states to withdraw FIRs related to the protests.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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