Today, Tuesday, February 6, Dr Ritu Singh, a former professor of Delhi University (DU) who has been protesting against caste discrimination at the prestigious central university for over 160 days, was detained along with several other protestors by the Delhi Police.
This is not the first time that Dr Ritu’s struggle against caste discrimination has been interrupted by the police. Last month, on January 9, the professor was detained by the police and the protest site was ransacked.
Speaking about the incident, Dr Ritu Singh shared a video on her social media profile urging the people to join her in the struggle against casteism.
“Right now, I am in front of Maurice Nagar Police Station. As many as 25,000-30,000 security personnel surrounded the university today and detained our people in 50-60 police buses. They were taken to nearby police stations. I request you all that this revolution for justice should not stop now. Until the culprit has been suspended and arrested, we will not stop,” she said in the video.
Dr Ritu Singh, who was a Dalit assistant professor at DU’s Daulat Ram College, was terminated from her position arbitrarily in 2020. Since then, Singh has been raising her voice against caste-based discrimination and harassment by the college Principal Dr Savita Roy. As per reports, a charge sheet was filed against the principal under the SC/ST Act but no action has been taken so far.
Priyanshu, a student of Hindu College and member of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), who has been a supporter of Dr Ritu’s Protest, said “It is very common in Delhi University to detain the protestors without any notice. It has happened before and it keeps happening regularly. The protest will continue.”
