Was JNUSU president Kanhaiya beaten? 3 reports, different results

There are varying accounts of the incident as per the Delhi Police and two probes -- one by the Supreme Court and the other by the Delhi high court’s registrar general.

Was JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar assaulted when he was produced before the Patiala House court on February 17?

Was JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar assaulted when he was produced before the Patiala House court on February 17? (Hindustan Times)

There are varying accounts of the incident as per the Delhi Police and two probes -- one by the Supreme Court and the other by the Delhi high court’s registrar general.

The police denied that Kanhaiya was assaulted but both the Supreme Court team and the registrar general said the student leader was beaten up by people in black coats, quoting his lawyer.

The registrar said he himself did not witness the incident as he was not present on the spot . According to his report, he was inside the magistrate’s court where Kanhaiya was to be produced to oversee the security arrangements. He learnt of the assault only after Kanhaiya told his advocate about it.

The dispute over whether the police made an attempt to nab two unidentified men present in the courtroom also remains unsolved. According to Kanhaiya’s lawyers, the police had violated the SC order by allowing the men inside because they had nothing to do with the case.

Only the legal team representing the accused, police counsel, police personnel escorting Kanhaiya and five mediapersons were permitted there. One of the two had apparently assaulted the JNUSU president outside.

The police in its defence said a proper search was launched to nab the two unidentified men but by then they had disappeared.

In their report, the police said there were adequate security arrangements in and around Patiala court complex. There were enough policemen providing protection to Kanhaiya who was surrounded by two rings of police personnel. “Lot of commotion followed but he was escorted safely to the court room by the policemen despite some hiccups,” read the police report.

The police described injuries sustained by Kanhaiya as “minor abrasions on foot, tow and nose.”

“It was also found that one of the lawyers of the accused was trying to dictate and influence the doctor,” the police report notes.

The registrar also confirmed to have alerted one of the deputy commissioners of police present on the spot.

The panel of SC advocates, however, did not agree with the police version and said “it was unbelievable” that a man was not arrested despite the DCP chasing him in presence of many police personnel”.