New Delhi: Twenty-two students were sent to three-day judicial custody after the Delhi Police arrested them Monday for allegedly staging a protest at an “unauthorised” site, attacking police personnel with chilli spray, and raising slogans in support of slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma.
The arrests were made after two FIRs were registered at the Kartavya Path and Parliament Street police stations. Initially, the police had arrested six of the 22 students from the C-Hexagon, near India Gate, where they were allegedly sitting to protest against the rising air pollution levels in the national capital. Later, as the police tried to clear the area, it turned violent, and protestors allegedly attacked police personnel with chilli spray.
The arrested students were produced before two judicial magistrates at the Patiala House Court, which sent them to judicial custody for three days. In the court, the Delhi Police submitted videos from the protest site showing slogans raised by the protestors.
As police began detaining protestors and taking them to the Parliament Street station, the group of protestors allegedly encircled the police station and carried out sloganeering. This episode was followed by another FIR at the Parliament Street Police Station.
The first FIR at the Kartavya Path police station booked eight protestors, while the second named unknown accused, learnt to be mostly Delhi University students protesting under the banners of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, Himkhand DISHA, and unions such as the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).
Of the 22 students accused, 14 have been identified as Akash, Ahan, Akshay, Vishnu, Prakash, Sameer, Preeti, Satyam, Ayesha, Mehul, Vagisha, Noy, Kranti and Kareena.
Advocates Deeksha and Ahmad Ibrahim, who represented a total of 14 of total 22 accused arrested in the two cases, alleged use of force by the police and claimed no criminal antecedents of those students.
Following hearing from both sides, the magistrates remanded the students to judicial custody, citing their lack of cooperation during the investigation and its nascent stage.
‘Pro-Hidma slogans’
In the first of the two FIRs, accessed by ThePrint, a Delhi Police personnel deployed at the India Gate circle submitted that there was sizeable deployment of the police force at Kartavya Path by 4 pm Sunday after learning that there was to be a sit-in protest at the site starting at that time.
The officer further submitted that the protest were to be organised by some members of the AISA, and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union or (JNUSU) under the banner of Delhi Co-ordination Committee for Clean Air.
At around 4.15 pm, police reportedly noted the presence of some students who had gathered at India Gate with banners and were raising slogans.
After this, they were reportedly informed about Section 163 of the BNSS—which authorises officers the power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger, and replaces Section 144 of CrPC—in place in the area and told that protests outside India Gate were “banned” as it was a tourist attraction.
In the following 15–20 minutes, protestors allegedly intensified their sloganeering and started moving closer towards the India Gate monument, as mentioned in the FIR, suggesting they would jump over the barricades and block the road to protest.
The personnel further submitted that students allegedly ignored their warnings and instead crossed barricades, raising slogans in support of Hidma.
According to officers deployed at the site, the protesting students raised slogans, like “Hidma Amar rahe (long live Hidma)”, “Kitne Hidma marogey, har ghar se Hidma niklega (How many Hidmas will you kill? One will emerge from every household)”, “Hidma ji ko lal salam (red salute to Hidma).”
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
Also Read: Dusting off Delhi’s air — clean construction must replace blanket bans
I can strongly assume that these “students” have not read the IIT Delhi report on air pollution which states that the only 30% of the pollution comes from Delhi while everything else comes from nearby state.
Now, it’s good that people protest for such things but you need to understand the facts. Geography doesn’t help either according to the report.
Most importantly, I maybe wrong about this but did any of these people protest when AAP was in power ? I don’t think so. Anyway protesting for clean air is not a bad thing but don’t throw chili powder at cops.