Cops rain lathis on anti-CAA marchers in Delhi

Police resort to lathicharge when scores of Jamia Millia students and residents of Jamia Nagar try to march towards Parliament on Monday. Pics/ PTI

New Delhi: The Delhi police on Monday resorted to lathicharge when scores of students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and residents of Jamia Nagar pushed through the barricades to march towards Parliament. Several students sustained injuries and were admitted to the Jamia Health Centre. The protesters started the march from Jamia university against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) and had planned to march up to Parliament House.

However, the security forces stopped them near Holy Family Hospital in Okhla. The police said the protesters did not have permission for the march and they did not end their agitation despite repeated appeals from the police officers. According to an India Today report, police not only thrashed the protesting students and resident with lathis, but hit them with their boots and feet as well. Several students, both women and men, were admitted to the Jamia Health Centre with injuries to their private parts, elbows and chest.

"More than 10 women students have been hit on their private parts. We have found blunt injuries and we had to shift some of them to Al-Shifa because injuries are serious in nature," India Today quoted the doctors at the centre as saying. "I have been hit on my private parts by cops with boots. One of the woman cops took off my burqa and hit me on my private parts with a lathi," a student told India Today. "Police hit me on my private part with their feet. They were beating up women so I went to their rescue when the police hit me on my chest and back with sticks," one of the injured student said.

Al-Shifa hospital confirmed to India Today that at least nine people - eight Jamia students and a local - were brought in after the protest. "One of the students has suffered severe injuries, we have shifted him to the ICU," they said. After failing to continue their march to Parliament, several students and locals sat on a dharna outside the university. The police officers said they have detained some of the protesters.

A student injured in lathi charge

"We can keep sitting whole day and shout slogans. They say we do not have permission to march to Parliament. Do people who have flashed guns here and there at protests in the past weeks have permission?" Farzana, a Jamia student, asked. Another protester said, "It has been two months since we started the protest. But no one from the government has come to speak to us, so now we want to go to talk to them".

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