New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday raised questions over the police's account of the violence during the CJP protest in the national capital, alleging discrepancies in the official narrative and demanding an explanation for the presence of stones and a damaged van at the protest site.
Addressing reporters, Sibal said students protesting against the paper leak issue were unarmed and had gathered peacefully, making the police's version of events questionable.
"You all know how our children were treated yesterday. They are victims of paper leaks as well as lathis. In their hands, there was neither a stone nor a lathi, but a feeling and a hope," Sibal said.
"What the police did against that feeling and hope makes it seem as though the government has lost its mental balance. How can any government do this to its own children when they were protesting peacefully without any weapons? The government knows that when the police removed Wangchuk without informing anyone, even then the students did not do anything. And if they did not do anything then, what was the need to lathi-charge them?" he asked.
Questioning the police account of the incident, Sibal said the injured students themselves had raised doubts about the presence of stones at the protest site.
"The victimised students who were attacked were asking why you don't investigate where those stones came from, insinuating that the government itself brought stones in trucks," Sibal alleged.
Sibal also questioned the presence of a damaged vehicle at the protest venue.
"You must have also seen that a van was parked there which looked as if it had been attacked, with its windows shattered. Who brought that van? Then that van was removed, and police personnel gave statements claiming these children attacked us too and that several police personnel were injured," he said.
The CJP's protest march toward Parliament on Monday turned violent, with Delhi Police claiming that more than 118 police personnel were injured in clashes. Around 60 protesters were also reported to have sustained injuries.
According to police, protesters allegedly pelted stones and other objects at personnel, attempted to breach barricades, vandalised police and government vehicles, and damaged public property. Police have registered FIRs against unidentified persons in connection with alleged vandalism and stone-pelting in Connaught Place and Parliament Street.
A CJP delegation met Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Monday and pressed several demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of NEET aspirants who lost their lives, and the immediate release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the protest would continue until Pradhan resigns. Nadda, who is also the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, said a proposal had been received from the protesters to hold talks with the government and appealed to them to end their sit-in.
Meanwhile, Sonam Wangchuk continues to receive medical treatment at Safdarjung Hospital under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of doctors. According to the latest hospital bulletin, his vital parameters remain stable, though his blood sugar levels continue to remain on the lower side and his serum potassium level was recorded at 3.2 mEq/L.
The hospital added that Wangchuk was receiving oral rehydration therapy and oral potassium supplementation but continued to decline intravenous fluids and glucose administration despite medical advice.
Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of the Education Minister over the NEET exam paper leak, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police on July 18.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
