A week since the student activists under the banner of Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) were detained while participating in a protest march at Jantar Mantar on December 10, many allege that the security forces have been harassing the female protestors and even their parents.
The protest was a joint call from several activist groups in Delhi and was organised to mark Human Rights Day on December 10. The protestors informed that though they had received permission to organise the protest march from Delhi Police prior to the event, the permission was denied just a day prior to the protest.
On Sunday, several student activists were detained by the police during their protest march from Jantar Mantar to the Parliament.
‘Moral policed’
The students shared with EdexLive, that several of them, including female and queer students, have been receiving calls from the Delhi Police. They added that the police have been calling and harassing the parents of these student activists.
“All of us are above 18 to 20 years of age. So it does not make sense that the police would call the parents. My parents, and parents of other female comrades have been receiving calls from the police. The police are asking for our pictures from our parents so that they can send our videos from the protest. They have been constantly trying to moral police the female students. They are threatening the parents that we will face consequences within and outside our academic circles,” informed Baadal, a member of the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM).
The students informed that female student activists have especially been targetted and their parents have received calls multiple times a day in the last week.
The student association also shared a statement on their social media profile on December 18.
“Such moral policing has become a continuous harassment for our activists. A lot of activists are not able to focus on their exams. Protest in a democratic society is a citizen 's right. We have the right to protest against any injustice we see in society. But this conduct of the police clearly shows that the government is afraid of people who raise their voice against the gross violation of human rights by the government”, the statement read.
Here’s what happened
To recall, the student activists had allegedly faced aggressive police brutality on December 10 when they were detained during the protests.
Student activists from BSCEM said that many of them were beaten up by the Delhi Police and female protestors were also manhandled by the security personnel. Moreover, the activists added that Gaurav, one of the student activists from BSCEM, was unlawfully detained and “kidnapped” by the Delhi Police for several hours.
“The Police did not share any information about Gaurav’s whereabouts until later that night on December 10. Even after he was released, the police did not return his phone for two days. Another female comrade’s phone, which was in Gaurav’s bag, was confiscated by the police. They called up her parents and harassed them, asking them to come and collect the phone from locations which was not the police station,” Baadal added.
The protest was called by organisations like the All India Students’ Association (AISA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), Dalit Student Union (DSU), Fraternity Movement and other progressive activist groups.
