New Delhi, Oct 3 (PTI) CPI Rajya Sabha leader P Sandosh Kumar on Saturday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention in the alleged police violence, arbitrary detentions and removal or concealment of identification badges by Delhi Police personnel while handling protests at Jantar Mantar.
Kumar, who was detained along with other protesters at Jantar Mantar on Friday, alleged that Delhi Police had repeatedly responded to peaceful political mobilisation with “violence, mass detentions, internet shutdowns and manhandling” instead of ensuring the safety of citizens exercising their democratic rights.
“I was myself detained yesterday along with workers of my party, the CPI(M), CPI(ML)L, AAP, cadres of the AISF, AIYF, SFI, DYFI, AISA and members of the civil society,” Kumar said in his letter to Shah.
The protest was held in the wake of concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India, including its handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, changes made in Form-6 and its IT systems. The protesters demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over these issues.
“It is deeply unfortunate that the Delhi Police, which is directly answerable to you, has repeatedly responded to such peaceful political mobilisation with violence, mass detentions, internet shutdowns and manhandling instead of ensuring the safety of citizens exercising their democratic rights at a protest site designated by the Supreme Court and the NGT,” he said.
Kumar particularly raised concerns over police personnel not wearing identification tags before detaining or using force on protesters.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s directions in the ‘D K Basu vs State of West Bengal’ case, Kumar said police personnel carrying out arrests or handling detainees were required to bear “accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations”.
He also referred to Delhi Police Standing Order No 51, which prescribes visible name plates as part of the prescribed uniform.
“This is not a minor procedural matter: identification is fundamental to accountability when the State exercises coercive power against citizens,” Kumar said.
Referring to reports of police violence against protesters during an earlier agitation on July 20, he said there had been reports and visual evidence of plain-clothes personnel and personnel without visible identification badges using force against protesters.
“The fact that the same conduct was repeated on October 2 makes the matter serious,” he said.
Kumar also raised concerns over the reported use of facial-recognition technology at Jantar Mantar, referring to an investigation which he said revealed that individuals identified through the system as being present at a students’ protest were, according to records, already in jail in connection with serious criminal cases.
Kumar sought a time-bound inquiry into the conduct of Delhi Police personnel, including the use of force, alleged arbitrary detentions, concealment of identification badges, manhandling of protesters, presence of plain-clothes personnel and deployment of facial-recognition systems.
He urged the home minister to issue instructions that citizens exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest should be protected and that police personnel deployed for crowd-control and detention duties should remain identifiable and accountable.
“Democratic dissent cannot be met with methods reminiscent of the British Raj police,” Kumar said.
“Delhi Police must understand that its duty is to protect citizens and facilitate their constitutional rights, not to intimidate, assault or silence them,” he said.
On October 2, the CPI said that Kumar, CPI Delhi secretary Prof Dinesh Varshney, AISF general secretary Dinesh Seerangaraj and hundreds of CPI, AISF and AIYF cadres were forcibly detained by Delhi Police during the protest. PTI AO RUK
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