Delhi: Shashi Bhushan Pandey, students’ union councillor, who was a part of the peaceful march to Parliament organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Monday, was assaulted by Delhi police.
Pandey was a part of the human chain that was attacked by the Delhi police, police took him side and beat him up with their lathis, after which he had to be admitted to AIIMS trauma centre.
Pandey later talked about his assault at a press conference, he said, “I was taken away from the human chain. I thought since I told them that I am visually impaired, they would spare me a beating, but no… One of them hit me from the front and when I tried to flee, I was beaten on my leg. The boy who helped me and took me to the hospital was also attacked by the Delhi Police.”
“When I told the policemen that I am blind, they said ‘andha hai to protest karne kyon aata hai (If you are blind, then why have you come for the protest),” said Pandey.
Pandey, a post-graduate student of the history department, spoke on the culture of speaking out and protesting at JNU, he said, “We protest and also attend our classes. We stick to our fight and slogan: 'Sabko shiksha de na sake jo, woh sarkar nikammi hai, jo sarkar nikammi hai, who sarkar badalni hai (the government that can’t give affordable education is useless, and useless governments must be changed).”
JNU’s visually challenged students’ forum also issued a statement condemning Delhi police’s actions against students who were demonstrating a peaceful protest against the unjust fee hike in the university.
“We have observed the Delhi Police has grossly violated the democratic right to protest demanding affordable and accessible education of students with disability,” the forum said.
The forum is expected to hold another peaceful march on Wednesday.
The police department also stated on Monday, stating that the police was highly restrained in its actions. The statement also said that the students forced their way through the first barricades after repeated appeals not to from the police.
It said, "The Delhi Police staff acted with restraint all along and, despite continued defiance by some groups of students, methods of persuasion were resorted to, and there was no use of water cannons, tear gas shells or lathi-charge at any stage of the protest".
"Delhi Police maintained maximum restraint and did not use force," DCP Central Mandeep Singh Randhawa told News18. Another officer said that if a complaint is filed, the department would look into it.
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