S.R. Darapuri I.P.S.(Retired)
(Asian independent) According to information available on social media, approximately 130 Delhi Police personnel and only 60 protesters were injured during the use of force against protesters and the alleged violence committed by them at Jantar Mantar on July 20. Prima facie, these figures do not appear accurate, as the number of injured protesters is shown to be less than half that of the police. Videos available on social media reveal the extensive and excessive use of force by the police, involving the deployment of tear gas, pellet guns, shock batons, lathis/sticks, nail-studded clubs, wooden planks, and iron rods; given this, it is natural to expect a significantly higher number of injured protesters.
The videos show individuals—whether standing peacefully or moving about—being beaten like animals by multiple police officers, inevitably resulting in serious injuries. The footage also shows the police retaliating with stone-pelting in response to stones thrown by protesters, making injuries among the protesters a likely outcome. It is also a well-known fact that most people flee the scene when beaten by the police, fearing that filing a complaint at the police station would result in them being accused and jailed. Consequently, the number of injured protesters visible at the site appears far lower than the actual figure.
Therefore, to ascertain the true number of protesters injured at Jantar Mantar, it is essential to determine the number of protesters who fell victim to the use of force as shown in the videos. This is also crucial for evaluating whether the excessive use of force by the police was justified or unjustified. In this regard, I urge the conveners of the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ to launch a second website—similar to the one used for recording complaints of police harassment—to document the grievances and count the number of people injured during the protest. This would enable the identification and punishment of police personnel guilty of using excessive force, a step they have already pledged to take.
If one considers the reported number of police personnel injured at Jantar Mantar, it is more than double the number of injured protesters, a figure that appears suspicious. Based on my own experience in the police service, I can state that the police sometimes fabricate or exaggerate injuries to portray an incident as more severe than it actually is. Therefore, to verify the credibility and actual number of injured Delhi Police officers and personnel, they should all undergo medical examinations by an independent Medical Board to authenticate their injuries. This would also assist the Delhi Police in justifying the use of force.
It is also noteworthy that the Delhi Police and the CRPF (RAF) operate under the direct control of Home Minister Amit Shah and act upon his orders. Consequently, Amit Shah bears direct responsibility for the use of excessive and unlawful force at Jantar Mantar—including the deployment of banned pellet guns and nail-studded batons, as well as assaults committed by outsiders in plainclothes. For this reason, all opposition political parties, the CJP, and other civil society organizations are demanding Amit Shah’s resignation—a demand that is entirely justified—given his accountability for the excessive and illegal force used by the police at Jantar Mantar.
In my view, a judicial inquiry into the justification and necessity of the force used at Jantar Mantar should be conducted by a committee supervised by the Supreme Court, and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding the use of force by the police should be established for the entire country. Furthermore, police reforms must be fully implemented. Since the BJP is in power in the majority of the country’s states, there should be no difficulty in achieving this.
