New Delhi [India], July 23 (ANI): Delhi Police Inspector Nandkishor, who was injured during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protest near Jantar Mantar, on Thursday alleged that he was attacked by nearly 150 people and claimed that “anti-social elements” specifically targeted police and other uniformed personnel during the violence that erupted as protesters attempted to march towards Parliament.
Recalling the incident, Nandkishor said he had reported for night duty and was making his way to the protest site on foot when he was attacked.
“I was on night duty at Jantar Mantar. The crowds were so intense, I couldn’t find a place to park… When I arrived at Sansad Marg, there was a crowd of about 2,500 people there. Then they suddenly got angry and came towards me, saying tear gas shells had been fired… Then they kicked me from behind and started punching me. There were about 150 people who attacked me,” he told ANI.
He said a police team rescued him and shifted him to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.
“These are not students who have attacked people like this on seeing the police uniform… They are anti-social elements. Whoever is seen in uniform, be it from the Rapid Action Force, police or CRPF, they are being beaten on sight. Police vehicles were also damaged. Whoever is going out alone, they are targeting him,” Nandkishor alleged.
Head Constable Balram, another injured policeman, alleged that he was stabbed from behind while crossing Parliament Street near the Regal Building.
“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. There were five or six of us… A boy from behind, a protester, stabbed me from behind. He was around 24-25 years old, wearing a black T-shirt, and disappeared back into the crowd,” he said.
Balram added that several police personnel, including an ACP, sustained injuries during the clashes.
Head Constable Babu Lal also alleged that he was assaulted by a large crowd armed with stones, sticks and knives.
“Suddenly, a crowd came and I couldn’t understand anything. They grabbed me and beat me so badly. There must have been at least 3,000-4,000 people. There were stones, sticks, and knives… They broke my head. They broke my arm. I have a grievous injury on my head,” he said.
He added that while some members of the crowd attacked him, others intervened to save him.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rohit Satawan, who was also injured during the violence, said police personnel came under attack after responding to reports of unrest near Connaught Place.
“We were doing our duties at Regal Cinema, Outer Circle, Connaught Place at around 8.15 pm. We received a message that the crowd is creating a ruckus, so all the staff should be alert… When we reached near Park Hotel, those people 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,” he told ANI.
Describing the rescue attempt, Satawan said, “We entered the crowd to save him. Then they started beating Vivek Sir and me too… However, we managed to disperse them only a short distance before they caught us again. Vivek Sir had been surrounded by a large crowd, so he suffered serious injuries. His entire face was covered in blood, and they kicked him, knocking him down. I ran to the side, and they hit me with batons from behind and threw stones at me.”
“They threw a lot of bricks and big stones at us, many of which hit me and that’s when I got injured… As for the sticks they had, they snatched many of them from the police personnel,” he added.
ACP Vivek Bhagat, who was injured in the violence near Tolstoy Marg, also alleged that police personnel were singled out by sections of the crowd.
“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. I had a staff of five or six walking ahead of me, along with ACP probationer Rohit and my operator Navneet,” Bhagat told ANI.
“As we were walking ahead, we realized that water bottles were being thrown at the staff in front 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 crowd. Blood was coming out of his head and his entire face was covered in blood, so I tried to rescue him,” he said.
“We even managed to bring him a metre or two forward, but the crowd was so huge and violent. They even overpowered me. Police officers were specifically targeted, isolating them and attacking them,” Bhagat alleged.
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Punjabi Bagh) Jai Prakash said he suffered a forehead injury after protesters allegedly hurled stones and plastic bottles when police attempted to stop them from marching towards Parliament. Delhi Police also said 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 remaining tense for a brief period. (ANI)
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