Six students sent to police custody over India Gate protest clashes

Police told the court that videos, chats and recovered canisters show deliberate mobilisation and argued the protest shifted from air issues to radical slogans.

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent six students to three days of police custody in connection with Sunday’s protest against air pollution at India Gate, which police said turned violent after students allegedly attacked personnel and raised slogans supporting Maoist leaders.

Police claim the accused coordinated with outfits like Himkhand as well as groups named in the FIR, though these organisations deny any involvement. (Sanjeev Verma/HT)

The order, passed by judicial magistrate Aridaman Singh Cheema of Patiala House Courts after the students were produced at the end of their two-day judicial custody, came after police sought a seven-day remand, alleging the accused had links to banned Maoist groups and had used pepper spray on security personnel.

Police argued that old social media videos recovered from the accused showed some of them singing songs in support of the Radical Students Union, which officials described as a frontal organisation of the banned CPI (Maoist). DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla told the court that officers also recovered pepper spray canisters from three of the accused – Akshay, Vishnu and Akash – and had a video of Akash holding a poster of Naxalite leader Madvi Hidma. “The right to protest cannot be absolute… Several police personnel were left injured due to the use of pepper spray,” Mahla said.

According to the MLCs of the six students, two of them were found to have fresh injuries. One had two to three linear abrasions of about three centimetres and redness, while the other had multiple bruises. Police, however, told the court that the students suffered the injuries due to their “own fault”.

Remanding the accused persons to three days of custody, the court, in its order, said, “In view of the recent attacks in New Delhi, the right of the investigating agency cannot be curtailed at a recent stage when there are allegations regarding the raising of slogans which jeopardise the sovereignty and security of India.” The court added that considering the seriousness of the allegations, the need to “unearth the larger conspiracy” and the requirement of effective investigation, police custody was warranted.

The prosecution, referring to the recent blast near the Red Fort, argued that even “educated individuals can be brainwashed” and claimed the students were motivated by “organisations with Naxal links”. The prosecutor said police needed time to examine WhatsApp groups, including one with more than 340 members, that they believe were used to coordinate the protest. “The objective was not environmental protection but causing unrest by shifting the slogan to support the Naxalite movement,” he said. He added that videos showed barricades being broken and that “sustained interrogation and confrontation” among the accused was needed.

Police said 15 of their personnel were injured during Sunday’s events. Officers claimed the six students “led the protest” and “motivated others to attack police with chilli spray”, adding that they were associated with Himkhand and the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch. One of the FIRs in the case, seen by HT, also names AISA and students from Jawaharlal Nehru University for allegedly staging the protest without permission.

Both groups denied involvement. In a statement, the JNU Students Union said it had repeatedly informed police it was “neither the organiser nor a participant” and accused officers of brutality and “sexual assault” on students. “Stop the bogus conspiracy… Delhi demands breathable air,” the statement read. AISA members also said their activists were not involved.

A Delhi University student who took part in the protest accused police of “grabbing, molesting and assaulting” students. “We are not Maoists. In any case, they can’t sexually assault us. Police are making us look like terrorists,” the student, who asked not to be identified, told HT.

Defence counsel for two of the accused argued in court that the students were exercising their constitutional right to protest, even if some slogans sounded “anti-national”. “There was no consequent violence because of the slogans… Having a different view cannot be grounds for arrest,” the lawyer said.

Sunday’s sit-in began when students from Delhi University and other institutions gathered at India Gate under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air. Police allege the protest had no permission and turned confrontational when they moved to disperse the crowd. Five students were initially arrested, followed by 17 more outside Parliament Street police station.

Two FIRs have been lodged. The first, at Kartavya Path police station, names eight students, including a minor, under sections related to assault on public servants, criminal conspiracy, molestation, obstructing police, disobedience of orders, and BNS section 197, which was added later. Seventeen other accused, including 11 women, are in judicial custody and are scheduled to be produced in court on Thursday.