ops peppersprayed, assaulted at India Gate air pollution stir: 22 arrested, ‘proMaoist’ slogans under probe

Two FIRs have been filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to assault, obstruction of public servants and outraging the modesty of women.

A day after several police personnel were allegedly attacked with pepper spray during a protest in the Capital, 22 people, mostly college students, were sent to judicial custody for two-three days on Monday. While the protest was reportedly called over poor air quality, police told the court that they were also probing “any Naxal links” as the protesters “raised slogans in support of Naxalites”.

Two FIRs have been filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to assault, obstruction of public servants and outraging the modesty of women.

Police said they were also probing if the protesters displayed posters of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, who was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh last week, and raised slogans in his favour. Purported videos on social media showed some protesters allegedly carrying posters of Hidma.

Police said permission was not sought for the protest at India Gate on Sunday evening. According to an officer, the protesters used pepper spray against police personnel who tried to remove them from the area. Several police personnel sustained injuries and were taken to RML Hospital for treatment, the officer said. According to the officer, some of the protesters were taken to Parliament Street police station where they reportedly got into another scuffle with the escorting personnel.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said the accused used chilli spray and also assaulted police officers. Asked whether Hidma’s posters were displayed during the protest, Mahla said “we are probing it.”

In the first FIR, six persons were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Aridaman Singh Cheema of Patiala House Courts. While five were sent to judicial custody for two days, the sixth person was sent to a safehouse until his age is verified.

The public prosecutor told the court that two days of custodial interrogation were needed to “reveal any Naxal links”. Claiming that the protesters used chilli powder against police personnel, the public prosecutor told the court: “They came fully prepared… We stopped them four times. They raised slogans in support of Naxalites. The protest was supposed to be about pollution, why were slogans linked to Naxalites raised”.

“They are educated youngsters. They connected pollution to issues of land, forests and water. Why are they being treated like criminals,” the lawyer of one of the accused responded.

The accused alleged that they were assaulted by the police. “I was beaten in the police booth… there was a surgery on my knee, they still beat me up,” one of the accused told the court.

“They’ve raised slogans in favor of Maoists… they’ve raised slogans of Lal Salaam,” the public prosecutor said.

“Is Lal Salaam anti-national… there’s still a Communist government in this country,” the defence lawyer responded.

“What else do you have?” the court asked the public prosecutor.

“They’ve raised slogans in favour of Maoist commander Madvi Hidma,” the public prosecutor said, and showed a purported video of such slogans being raised. “There are many such slogans,” he said.

“Send them to judicial custody. Till then you (police) take out the videos and mention everything in the case diary,” the court said.

This FIR has been registered under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty); 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman); 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt); 132 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant); 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions); and 223 (disobedience to a lawful order from a public servant) of the BNS at Kartavya Path Police Station.

In the second FIR, 17 people were produced before JMFC Sahil Monga of Patiala House Courts. The court granted judicial custody for three days.

The 17 have been booked under Sections 223A (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, with punishment depending on the severity of the consequences), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 126(2) (punishment for wrongful restraint) as well as Sections 132 and 221 of the BNS at Parliament Street police station.

“The allegations are serious and the matter is at an early stage of investigation; identity verification of several accused persons is pending and digital electronic evidence is yet to be examined. Considering their non-cooperation and the requirement of proper investigation, judicial custody is justified,” the court said.

Protesters, meanwhile, alleged custodial torture and “groping” by police personnel.

Among those named in the FIRs are at least seven Delhi University students – six are reportedly associated with the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) and one with Himkhand, an environmental research and action collective.

Meanwhile, Scientists for Society (SFS), which also participated in the protest, distanced itself from the BSCEM and Himkhand. In a statement, the SFS said it had joined the protest “solely on the issue of pollution” and accused Himkhand and BSCEM of suddenly raising slogans in favour of Hidma. Saying that while it “unequivocally condemns such encounters” and supports calls for a high-level inquiry into Hidma’s killing, it added that the protest on Sunday was “not the appropriate platform” to raise the issue.

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