Dr Ritu Singh, who has been protesting for over 125 days against caste discrimination at Delhi University (DU) was detained by the Delhi Police today, Tuesday, January 9, and the protest site was ransacked, informed sources.
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.
In a live video shared on X today, January 9, Dr Ritu was heard saying in Hindi, “Our protest of over 125 days at DU’s Arts Faculty Gate 4 was uprooted last night by the police. They waited for me to go to the restroom and then the police and goons from Delhi University ransacked the protest site.”
Fellow protestors and student activists alleged that the security personnel tore copies of the Indian Constitution and a picture of Dr BR Ambedkar present at the protest site.
“Anything can happen to us. We are at a security risk due to the Delhi Police and DU administration. We had been protesting peacefully for so many days at the site to save our Constitution and fight for our society,” Dr Singh added in the video.
Despite the alleged police brutality, she added that they will resume the protest. Student groups like the All India Students' Association (AISA), Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) have also extended support to Dr Ritu’s protest.
Maya John, Member, Academic Council, DU, told EdexLive, “It is really condemnable the way the authorities are clamping down on protests, leaving no democratic space for resistance. All the social justice and democratic forces should unite to collectively resist administrative authoritarianism, repression and lack of accountability.”
