Many policemen were injured in the violence during the protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The injured inspector alleged that around 150 people attacked him and police, RAF and CRPF personnel in uniform were being targeted by anti-social elements.
Delhi Police Inspector Nand Kishore, who was injured during the CPI(M)-led protests near Jantar Mantar on Thursday, alleged that he was attacked by around 150 people. He claimed that “anti-social elements” specifically targeted police and other uniformed personnel in the violence that broke out as protesters attempted to march towards Parliament.
Recalling the incident, Nandkishore said that he had reported for night duty and was walking towards the protest site on foot when he was attacked. He told ANI, “I was on night duty at Jantar Mantar. The crowd was so huge that I couldn’t find a place to park… When I reached Sansad Marg, there was a crowd of about 2,500 people. Then they suddenly got angry and came towards me saying that tear gas shells had been fired… Then they kicked me from behind and started punching me. There were about 150 people who attacked me.”
‘They were targeting after seeing the uniform’
He said a police team rescued him and admitted him to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. Nandkishore alleged, “These are not students who have attacked people like this after seeing the police uniform… These are anti-social elements. Anyone seen in uniform, whether from the Rapid Action Force, police or CRPF, is being beaten on sight. Police vehicles were also damaged. Anyone who is going out alone, they are targeting him.”
‘Someone from the crowd stabbed him from behind’
Another injured policeman, Head Constable Balram, alleged that he was stabbed from behind while crossing Parliament Street near Regal Building. He said, “I was on protest duty… A crowd was following me. Someone stabbed me from behind, causing a lot of bleeding. It was around 8:40 pm. We were five or six people… A boy from behind, a protester, stabbed me. He was around 24-25 years old, wearing a black T-shirt, and disappeared back into the crowd.” Balram said several policemen, including an ACP, were injured during the clashes.
Head constable Babu Lal also alleged that he was attacked by a large mob armed with stones, sticks and knives. He said, “Suddenly a mob came and I couldn’t understand anything. They caught me and beat me very badly. There must have been at least 3,000-4,000 people there. There were stones, sticks and knives… They broke my head. They broke my arm. I have a serious head injury.” He also said that while some members of the mob attacked him, others intervened to save him.
ACP narrated his ordeal
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rohit Satawan, who was injured during the violence, said the policemen were attacked after acting on reports of unrest near Connaught Place. He told ANI, “We were doing our duty at Regal Cinema, Outer Circle, Connaught Place around 8.15 pm. We got a message that the crowd was creating ruckus, so all the staff should be alert… When we reached near Park Hotel, they started throwing bottles at us. Then they started throwing stones… They started hitting our staff. One of our staff members was trapped and they were beating him together.”
Describing the rescue effort, Satawan said, “We entered the crowd to save him. Then they started beating Vivek sir and me too… However, we managed to drive them away for a short distance before they caught hold of us again. Vivek sir was surrounded by a large crowd, so he suffered serious injuries. His whole face was covered with blood, and they kicked him, causing him to fall down. I ran to one side, and they chased me back. He hit me with sticks and threw stones at me.” He further said, “They threw a lot of bricks and big stones at us, many of which hit me and that’s when I got injured… Many of the sticks they had, they had snatched from the policemen.”
‘Police officers were specifically targeted’
ACP Vivek Bhagat, who was injured in the violence near Tolstoy Marg, also alleged that police personnel were isolated and targeted by sections of the mob. Bhagat told ANI, “Yesterday, I was on duty in Sector One, Zone One, which includes the main Jantar Mantar area… During the evening shift, I was going to report from Regal Building via Sansad Marg. A staff of five or six employees was walking ahead of me, along with ACP probationer Rohit and my operator Navneet.”
He said, “As we were moving forward, we realized that water bottles were being thrown at the personnel moving ahead and anti-social slogans were being raised against the police. Some of our personnel moved forward to save themselves, but one of them was overpowered by the mob. His head was bleeding and his entire face was stained with blood, so I tried to save him.”
Bhagat alleged, “We even managed to bring him forward by a meter or two, but the crowd was so huge and violent. They overpowered me too. Police officers were specifically targeted, isolated and attacked.”
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Punjabi Bagh) Jai Prakash said he was hit on the forehead when police allegedly threw stones and plastic bottles at him when he tried to stop them from marching towards Parliament. Delhi Police also said that ACP Connaught Place Vivek Bhagat was injured after miscreants allegedly attacked police with stones and bottles near Tolstoy Marg in Connaught Place. Police said the situation was brought under control after it remained tense for a short period. (ANI)
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