Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas wrote to President Droupadi Murmu regarding a brutal police assault in Delhi. Brittas said, “It happened within hours of the Supreme Court issuing directions to safeguard peaceful protest and constitutional rights.” He requested an independent investigation after police forcibly dragged him away during a media interaction.
While there was no permission granted by the Delhi Police for any protest, several people were detained and kept in detention centres. “It happened within hours of the Supreme Court issuing directions to safeguard peaceful protest and constitutional rights,” Brittas said.
‘Brutal police assault’
Writing to President Droupadi Murmu, the Member of Parliament detailed the “brutal police assault”, during a peaceful media interaction in Delhi. He called it a “grave violation of constitutional freedoms and parliamentary dignity.”
In his letter, he requested urgent intervention and independent investigation.
“While peacefully interacting with journalists in connection with the ongoing democratic protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, I was forcibly dragged away, bodily lifted by police personnel, brutally assaulted inside a police vehicle and subsequently abandoned on the roadside. The entire episode raises grave questions about the rule of law, the guarantee of democratic dissent and the accountability of those entrusted with enforcing the law,” Brittas wrote in his letter.
He added: “What makes this incident all the more shocking is that this brutality occurred within hours of the Hon’ble Supreme Court issuing explicit directions to safeguard peaceful protesters against illegal detention, ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity and normal Metro and railway services, and protect the free movement of people.”
Brittas says he reached Connaught Place around 12.30 pm Sunday and was interacting with journalists, when he got to know a few young activists were being assaulted and detained. “I was simply exercising my democratic right to speak to the press. Nevertheless, Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel forcibly manhandled and dragged me for approximately 50 metres, despite repeated assertions by both myself and the journalists present that I am a sitting MP.”
Brittas said a few police personnel lifted him into the air and carried him towards a police vehicle, “treating a sitting Member of Parliament as though I were an object to be hauled away. There was no provocation whatsoever to justify this high-handed action.”
Brittas says the brutality escalated after he was put inside the vehicle. “The police personnel assaulted me and pinned me to the seat. The assault continued even after I identified myself as a Member of Parliament. Nothing can justify the use of physical violence against me in the circumstances described. This incident cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider context of the ongoing protests.”
He went on say, “The authorities may agree or disagree with these demands, but they cannot answer them with physical violence. The Government cannot intimidate democracy into silence. It cannot deploy the police as an instrument of political retaliation.”
Brittas sought urgent intervention to seek a comprehensive report from the Union Government and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, to ensure that an independent and impartial investigation is initiated.
He said that all relevant evidence needs to be preserved immediately, including complete and unedited video recordings, vehicle identification and movement records, duty rosters, deployment orders, wireless communications, control-room logs and records concerning “my detention and release”.
The identities of the personnel involved need to be established without delay. The role of the Deputy Commissioner of Police and any other supervisory officer who was informed of the assault need to be examined. Those found responsible, including supervisory officers where complicity or dereliction is established, must face appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings in accordance with law, Brittas added in his letter.
Taking to X, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby said that he met Brittas at RML Hospital, where he was admitted.
ThePrint reached out to Delhi Police Spokesperson Additional Commissioner Rajeev Ranjan, who refused to comment on the matter.
Night of chaos at detention centres
Further, on Sunday, several detentions raised concerns. X user Disha Verma, whose friend was detained by the police and taken to a community centre at Pandwalan Khurd, posted that at around 6.40 pm, protestors were picked up from Connaught Place, their phones seized, and all protest videos deleted.
“They have been detained and brutally beaten up, totally crushed by the cops in the bus, including minors,” she posted.
At 8 pm, the bus stopped at a community centre in Pandwalan Khurd. She said detainees had fracture injuries, while four minors were present. Everyone was barbarically beaten up. No lawyers allowed to enter, she wrote on X.
“Peaceful protestors were detained from Connaught Place and taken to the Life Insurance Corporation buildling area—in a space sealed off from lawyers, journalists, crowds,” she said. “They were made to kneel down in a row. Cops frisked them and physically snatched all their phones.”
The bus circled around Kapashera and Najafgarh for an hour. Disha said, the police knew lawyers were waiting for them at Kapashera and Chhawla Police Stations.
They reached Chhawla Police Station by 6.53 pm and promptly moved on. By 7.30 pm , they touch Pandwalan Gaon. By 8 pm, they were forced into a community centre there, Disha added. None of the detainees had their phones, so none had an idea of what was going on, she said.
She also claimed that Delhi Police cut off electricity at the community centre. At around 9.49 pm, Disha alerted that the detainees were being released after hours of “extrajudicial torture and detention.” Disha said, around 50-60 protesters were kept here.
She told ThePrint that the protesters were allegedly kicked, beaten up and sustained bodily injuries.
A senior police officer from Dwarka district told ThePrint, “Allegations are not substantiated. Neither woman nor minor was found on that bus. They allowed to leave after an hour. Police bus was even provided for dropping.”
The officer added that there were around 56 people brought to the detention centre, and were all released soon after the completion of formalities. They were also provided with water, food and carpets to sit on, he said.
Searching for missing students
Amid the chaos that unfolded Sunday, several student and political groups took to X, making attempts to find missing students.
Sandeep Yadav, President of Youth for Swaraj, took to X to say that a student, Aranya has been missing since being detained by Delhi Police near Connaught Place at around 4.30 pm. “According to fellow protesters, she was beaten inside a police detention vehicle and struggled to breathe. Police took her away for medical treatment, but she has not been seen or heard from since,” he said.
He added: “Her phone is switched off. She has not been found in nearby hospitals, and her name is missing from the medico-legal register at Parliament Street Police Station.”
“Some of our fellow protesters are on their way to RML Hospital to look for Aranya. We desperately hope she is there, safe and receiving medical care,” Yadav said.
Meanwhile, DCP (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma issued a clarification stating that reports claiming student Aranya has gone missing following her detention by Delhi Police are incorrect. “She was detained during a protest at Connaught Place, where she bit a police officer on the hand. As per standard procedure, she was taken for a mandatory medical examination and will be released immediately afterwards. Please verify facts before circulating unverified information.”