The Patna High Court has taken note of the reports of police brutality and excesses, while imposing the lockdown, and has directed authorities to keep a check on the same. 

The bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S Kumar also gave few other directions to the state about infrastructure in hospitals and about training unskilled youth to use equipments in medical wards like ICU.

Infrastructure in hospitals

The court had formed a 3-member committee of experts consisting of doctors to report on issues of sufficiency or lack of beds, oxygen, medicines, human resources and security and the report submitted that except for ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Bihta, there was no significant deficiency in the infrastructure in other hospitals visited. 

The committee also gave some suggestions with regard to investigation and management of Covid-19 such protocol to be followed after Antigen test, Chest x-ray, HRCT, treating patients with mild symptoms and so on.

Interestingly, the report of the expert committee does not mention Darbhanga Medical College & Hospital which caters to at least five districts of North Bihar with a population of 2.5 crore. The hospital has been widely reported in the media for its dilapidated state and the failing infrastructure. A report by The Print pointed out the deplorable state of the isolation wards, the lack of toilets for women and the lamentable hygiene as stary dogs roam around the hospital and pigs roaming within the compound.

The ESIC Hospital, Bhita also filed an affidavit highlighting the requirements of the hospital managed by the state government, the hospital management as well as the Army Medical Corps. The court then directed the Officer In-charge of the Army Medical Corp to file his personal affidavit indicating the lack of infrastructure, not covered in the hospital’s affidavit and also directed the liasoning officer appointed by the government to submit report on remedial steps within 5 days.

Citing non-availability of skilled human resources to man the essential equipment installed in the wards, ICUs, the court directed that a capsulated course of training is prepared for giving basic training to the unskilled youth.

The court also emphasised that the government should develop a State Level Protocol to enable people to understand how to deal with the virus, especially in rural areas, where the information has to be in their language.

Police excess

The court also noted purported illegality and brutality exhibited by the police in enforcing the lockdown and directed authorities to keep a check on the same.

Last week, there were reports that Kishanganj police were seen in a video clip that went viral, making people, apparently lockdown violators, crawl on their elbows and knees and some were made to jump like frogs in the middle of Dey Market area.

The matter will be taken up next on June 2.

The order may be read here:

Related:

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NCW seeks expedited probe in Patna Covid patient’s alleged gang rape

Death due to lack of timely medical aid is a violation of right to life: Patna HC

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Day after the Jamia Coordination Committee tweeted a video of security personnel entering the first floor reading hall of the MA/MPhil section of the Jamia Milia Islamia University on the night of December 15, 2019, and brutally beating students, police appear to have gone into damage control mode. In a desperate bid to reclaim control over the narrative and perhaps even offer a shameless justification of violence, police have now released their own video of what transpired in the library.

This new video shows alleged ‘rioters’ entering the library with stones in their hands. The video was accessed by India Today from the Delhi Police Crime Branch. Police claim that the people in the video are ‘rioters’ who took refuge in the library to escape the police crackdown. The video may be viewed here:

What happened in #Jamia on December 15? India Today accesses the #exclusive video. @arvindojha’s report.
LIVE https://t.co/4fqxBVUizL pic.twitter.com/qrsTsFuDw3

— India Today (@IndiaToday) February 16, 2020

A few young men can be seen in the video entering a room, one after the other. One of them, a long-haired young man, appears to be holding something in his hand that the police claim is a stone. There are about 10 to 15 people in the video who immediately barricade the door to the library using a desk.

This new video comes just a day after the Jamia Coordination Committee released the following video:

Exclusive CCTV Footage of Police Brutality in Old Reading Hall, First floor-M.A/M.Phill Section on
15/12/2019
Shame on you @DelhiPolice @ndtvindia @ttindia @tehseenp @RanaAyyub @Mdzeeshanayyub @ReallySwara @ANI @CNN @ReutersIndia @AltNews @BBCHindi @the_hindu @TheQuint @BDUTT pic.twitter.com/q2Z9Xq7lxv

— Jamia Coordination Committee (@Jamia_JCC) February 15, 2020

This video clearly shows security personnel repeatedly beating students who are sitting quietly and studying. Police personnel can be seen raining lathi blows on these students, who do not engage in any counter attack, but meekly try to defend themselves by holding up their hands to avoid blows to the head. 

But just when the Delhi Police thought it had won the video war, another longer video of the CCTV footage emerged. Maktoob Media released the following extended footage of the same CCTV camera that the police had used to show ‘rioters’ had entered the library. This video shows that when helpless and unarmed students tried to exit the library police beat them up brutally. The version released by the police had cleverly omitted this extended part of the footage. The video may be viewed here:

The counter strategy applied by the police of releasing one video to invalidate another, appears to have backfired. When they tried to defend their actions, the new video clearly shows there is no justification for the violence against students.

Related:

Video shows Delhi Police assaulting students in Jamia library

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The violent attacks on the students and teachers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in their fight for affordable education and right to freedom of expression have called for international condemnation.

Education International and its 400 member organizations representing 32.5 million teachers and education personnel in 171 countries has strongly criticized the incidents saying, “Universities  are the institutions that prepare the next generation of leaders, protect freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and uphold the dignity and human rights of all students and staff by providing a “safe space” to exercise these rights and to participate and contribute to an equal, democratic and just society.”

In its statement, Education International also said, “Recent attacks at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Aligarh Muslim University, the Jamila Milia Islamia University and now JNU make it increasingly difficult for students, staff and their organisations to voice their opinions on government policies, politics and socio-economic issues, including their right to demand access to and provision of affordable quality education for all.”

Taking stock of the incidents where students of JNU were brutally attacked by the Delhi police during their fee hike protest and later the police inaction they witnessed as alleged right-wing goons attacked them in an attempt to break their strike, and also the brutal attacks on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the light of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, the institution has called on the government of India to:

1. Conduct a thorough independent inquiry into the violence and bring the culprits to justice.

2. Immediately remove M. Jagadeesh Kumar from the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University for his continuous failure to maintain a safe academic environment.

3. Ensure that universities uphold democratic values and human rights for all.

4. Pressure the JNU administration to engage with the JNU students’ union and teachers’ union to find a solution to their demands.

Apart from the Educational International, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) also wrote a letter to JNU Vice Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar saying, “Recent events at Jawaharlal Nehru University raise serious concerns about the integrity of the institution and its commitment to the pursuit of knowledge and the defence of its role as a community of scholars.”

Reaffirming that “universities have a special role in democracy” and “violence of any sort has no place in a University”, NTEU General Secretary Matthew McGowan asked the VC to “stand up to protect and defend the students and staff of the University, and to ensure that JNU’s long standing reputation as an defender of intellectual integrity and rigour is protected. We call on you and the Government of India to condemn these attacks in the interests of a strong and vibrant democracy, and to take all necessary actions to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.”

The Commonwealth Students Association too put out a press release in support of rallies to condemn police brutalities during peaceful student protests. In its statement Asia General Representative Shomy Hasan Chowdhury shared CSA’s stand on the issue saying, “We are deeply concerned by the violation of human rights to “freedom of expression and peaceful public association” indicated in reports of unjust and inhumane treatment by the police officers.”

Its statement also read, “The Commonwealth Students’ Association encourages similar student-led rallies to decry police brutality and promote values of tolerance, respect and understanding articulated in the Commonwealth Charter. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that students’ rights, voices and interests are upheld and valued in decision-making processes and program implementation.”

The incidents of violence against students in premier educational institutions in India have had a seismic impact on the global educational community. This kind of show of solidarity has only bolstered student movements in India.

Related:

International condemnation for CAA, travel advisories issued
Human rights groups decry the use of torture in J&K, seek UN probe
India is losing its economic way: Growth is significantly lower, debt and distress are growing

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India has been gripped with vehement protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). From Assam to Delhi, from Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra and from Karnataka to West Bengal, there have been continuous protests by students, civilians and activists alike that have invited the ire of a baffled and shocked Central government that had not expected such large-scale protests to take place in the nation.

To curb dissent and instill fear, the government had used strong-arm tactics against the protestors, with the police resorting to lathi charge, tear gas lobbing and firing at innocents. In the aftermath of this, Assam saw the death of 5 people, UP around 18 and Mangaluru 2.

On December 19, 2019 there were anti-CAA/ NPR protests held in Mangaluru city that were met with police action. Two people were killed in Mangaluru in police firing after protests allegedly turned violent, and scores were injured, properties were damaged and several criminal cases were filed and with people also being arrested. Some journalists too were at the receiving end of police violence, while several journalists, especially from Kerala based media, were also detained by the police and later released. The State Government and the police claims that there was no police excess and that all actions by the police and district administration was in accordance with law, whereas the civil society organizations and the opposition have refuted the same, and believe that the police action was excessive, biased and specifically targeted the Muslim community.

After this incident, Karnataka CM announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh for the families for each of the deceased, only to withdraw it later. He also accused the people who had come in from Kerala for allegedly setting a police station ablaze and damaging public property after which the Kerala government intervened to make a safe passage for the people to get back to their home state.

A team of human right and civil liberty activists from Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi conducted a fact-finding exercise to unearth the realities of the happenings of the events that took place in Mangaluru, Karnataka on December 19, 2019. They met with the families of the deceased, other injured and their families, shopkeepers in the State Bank and Bunder area, administration and others in the Ibrahim Khaleel mosque, met the administration of Highland Hospital and District Medical Officer, Dr.Rajeshwari Devi of Wenlock Hospital, met Shri Madan Mohan, Assistant Commissioner, and Dr. P.S. Harsha, Commissioner of Police.

After going through gathered evidence (videos and photos), they have conclusively determined certain aspects of the incidents that occurred through the day of December the 19th.

They found out that heavy police deployment, including that of external KSRP forces was in place with preparations of arrangement of sand bags and riot gear being undertaken at the location.

The first incident appeared to have occurred around 1.30 pm, when a handful of youth attempted to protest against the CAA but were dispersed by the police, which used excessive violence against them. From the videos circulating widely, it is apparent that their number was not more than 150 and that they were only shouting slogans.The protesters were violently thrashed, kicked, pushed around and abused before being thrown into police vans without any provocation in a premeditated manner. The police came down upon them with disproportionate force and violence.

The team found out that there was some confusion amongst the youth about whether or not the protest announced for that day had been cancelled, as the message of cancellation issued after imposition of prohibitory orders under section 144 had not circulated to all.

Thepolice then went on a rampage and stormed into shops in the vicinity, pulling out people, selectively attacking Muslims. At around 4 pm, a team of police attacked Ibrahim Khaleel mosque where about 80 persons were praying peacefully. The police apparently sought to chase certain youth into the said mosque and then initiated an indiscriminate attack upon the mosque. The police launched an attack of stones and teargas through and above the slats of the mosque gate, causing havoc and confusion.

When the infuriated youth retaliated with intermittent stone pelting, the leaders of the community were brought in by the police to calm the situation. It was during this time, that the former mayor of Mangaluru was hurt on the head by the police which again aggravated the situation.

At this point, the police began indiscriminate firing of guns and teargas. Two innocent bystanders were killed during this firing, both of which took place on Azizuddin Road, where the Mangaluru North Police Station is located. One of them was a 42-year old father of two and daily wage earner on the docks, who had stepped out of his house to offer Namaz. There was no mob present, yet tear gas and bullets was being fired into the road, one of which hit Abdul Jaleel in the head. In another incident on another end of Azizuddin Road, 23-year old Nausheen who was attempting to return home from the workshop he was working at, fell prey to the blind and indiscriminate firing when a bullet hit him in his midriff. Highland Hospital where many of the seriously injured were admitted, reported that there were 5 persons admitted with bullet and shell linked injuries.

Both were declared dead when they were on arrival by the Highland Hospital. Jaleel and Nausheen’s families filed complaints with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the hospital administration filed a complaint and wanted action to be taken against the responsible personnel but no action was taken in this regard.

However, the police even attacked the Highland Hospital demanding that the bodies be handed over to them as they were Medico Legal Cases (MLCs). The police upon arrival at the hospital were faced by an angry group of mourners, who pelted stones at the police outside the hospital. The police engaged in lathi charge outside the hospital. They did not stop there. The police then fired tear gas within the hospital compound and proceeded to storm the hospital. They tried to barge into patient rooms including the ICU.

The team also spoke to Dr.Rajeshwari Devi, District Medical Officer, Wenlock Hospital. She informed us that on 19th December, 66 people were treated in the OPD of which 26 were civilians and 42 were police persons. Police continued to get treatment from the OPD till the 22nd of December. Apparently there were conscious attempts on the part of the police to make it appear that the number of policemen injured by the alleged stone pelting by the mob outnumbered civilians who suffered injuries from violence by police. The cases of police treated in Wenlock were mostly related to bruises, lacerations, contusions and swelling. There were 2 cases of bullet injuries in which one of the victims admitted took discharge immediately.

On December 20, 2019 too, the police beat up people who came out of the masjid after their offering their prayers. The curfew had been lifted during those hours (12:00 PM to 2:00 PM) and when the people questioned the police as to why they were beaten up, the police simply said that they did not know of the curfew being revoked.

The police also targeted shops and street stalls owned by the Muslim community. Some open FIRs mention the accused as ‘Unknown Muslim Youth’. The attack on the masjid and people coming out of the masjid, that all who were admitted either for bullet/shell injuries and severe injuries due to lathi charge even on those alighting from buses, were all Muslim indicates that the police force has been communalized.

Within 2 days of the incidents, all the CCTV DVRs have been taken away by the police. Based on the criticism that the police have already faced, it is alleged that this was done in an attempt by the police to cover their tracks. Similarly, on the matter of the internet ban, it appears that it was done only to prevent videos about the police violence from being circulated.

Demands of the fact-finding team

The team has demanded that the Court order a judicial enquiry into the events of December 19, 2019, including the event of the police barging into the Highland Hospital. It has also demanded that the FIRs lodged against various persons, predominantly the people from the Muslim community must be closed. The team has asked for the suspension for the various police officials and ex-gratia compensation for the families of the deceased among other demands.

The entire report by the fact-finding team may be read here.

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‘Bloody Sunday 2019’- PUDR releases report on Jamia police brutalities

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The iconic images from Ferguson (Missouri) in the US of ordinary people standing up to police (“The woman in the dress”) or in front of armored vehicles found resonance in India when some young women students faced up to police beating up a colleague of theirs at the Jamia Millia University in New Delhi, even attempting to snatch the baton from the cops. 

When fatalities from police brutality in the United States were in the center of the world’s attention, there were examples advanced of low levels of fatalities from police action in places like India. This was attributed to the low-tech nature of the Indian police force – the average Indian policeman is not armed with a gun but with a stick. “Police brutality” as an issue has not been very high on the list of civil rights excesses till now in India, unfortunately.  

That is not to say that the Indian citizens do not face police violence – far from it. In fact, mostly the poor,the marginalized and the minorities suffer from a brutal culture of police violence, when they are met with beatings, torture, rapes and executions for one flimsy reason or another. We are talking about the brutality of the “ordinary police” here, not the special forces and squads that operate in what are considered hotbeds of guerilla and separatist movements. In certain geographical areas, however, such as those with large indigenous populations, both the regular police and special police outfits terrorize the local populations. Just recently, “security forces” were indicted for killing 17 members of an indigenous tribe in central India in 2012. Such gross violations of human rights and lives is all too common in certain parts of India and indictments as the one above rare. The  demography of the accused in India’s prison system remains heavily biased towards the economically weak, the minorities, and those of lower castes. Also, importantly, the gross violations of human rights against the minorities have taken place often in areas remote from urban areas – in the habitats of the indigenous or various rural or semi-urban locations of the lower caste and Muslims. 

On Sunday Dec 15, the  police in New Delhi reacted brutally against protesting students from a state-run, central university, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). The students had organized a peaceful protest against the recently approved Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The bill, passed in the Indian parliament on December 11, ostensibly to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from India’s neighboring countries, is worded in exclusionary language – it allows refugees of the Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Parsi communities to seek Indian citizenship – but explicitly leaves out Muslims. 

Earlier the current Indian government, the Hindu majoritarian BJP, had given the final touches to a long-running process called the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the north-eastern state of Assam. Under that process nearly 2 million residents of the state were declared non-citizens for want of proper proof of residence. Their fate is yet undecided, though there is some recourse to appeals – failing which they would be reportedly sent to detention centers. 

On the heels of the NRC in just the state of Assam, the government had announced plans for a  nationwide NRC exercise which would determine “true citizens” and weed out the “infiltrators.” The NRC exercise in Assam had ended up primarily targeting Muslims who were alleged to have come in “illegally”  from neighboring Bangladesh. Such a double whammy where Muslims have been singled out in exclusionary ways, first by the NRC and then by the CAA, has struck fear and anxiety primarily in the hearts of Muslims, but also in several other minority groups, as all of a sudden legal residents of India too could be required to prove their citizenship credentials.

But, it was the blatantly religious nature and wording of the CAA which rattled large swathes of the country, whether Muslim or not. Though the BJP won a second term to rule India for 5 more years jin Jun 2019, it is significant to note that it garnered less than 40% of the vote. Also, while it is undeniable that the BJP has managed to increasingly woo many Indians to its Hindu majoritarian agenda, the fact remains that India has a wide range of social and religious communities and for the longest time Indians have grown up with ideas that their country believes in state secularism, a policy that accords a sort-of equal treatment to all religions. 

The students at the JMI university called for a protest on Dec 13 but the march soon saw some disruptions. Whoever was to blame for these diversions and provocations, the police decided to retaliate with disproportionate and brute force. It rained blows indiscriminately on students and bystanders with the long batons (called lathis) they normally carry. Later that evening, the police even entered the library of the university, chased the students inside and burst tear-gas shells, vandalising the library in the process. 

On the same day, a student protest in solidarity with the Jamia protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), another central university, located in the town of Aligarh about 150 miles east of Delhi, was met with even more brute force from the police. Several students and bystanders were injured, some of them grievously, as a fact-finding report makes clear. 

Police violence against those continuing protests against the CAA was in evidence again in subsequent days in areas of the capital, Delhi, and in several other parts of the country, like in the states of UP and Karnataka. It has continued till the writing of this piece as police have been clamping down on protests swiftly and remorselessly, striking protesters with their batons and detaining them at sites of protests, and firing live bullets and killing innocent people. 

Such cases of very public and visible violence visited upon urban university students and the social-media savvy youth in general, especially in the capital city of Delhi,  which has finally enabled a recognition of wilful police brutality. As noted above, the police have also brutally repressed dissent in Muslim-majority areas in states not far from Delhi. It is the current awareness of and outrage over the police actions in Delhi which have also enabled the urban population across India to appreciate what it means to be targeted and exposed to vicious violence. 

Hopefully, such an attention on issues of policing, and also on repressive ways of managing dissent will bring into its ambit a discussion on the larger issue of routine police violence. But more importantly, it should place the police’s role in targeting minorities and those economically disadvantaged in the limelight. For all of us who have been insulated from the brutalities of police interactions, this will be a wake-up call.

The author is a Delhi-based writer and a student of social movements. He has been involved in various struggles of the marginalized people, including anti-caste, indigenous and the Palestinian struggle.

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On December 21, 2019, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav had called for a bandh in Bihar against the unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). At the time, Additional Director General, Bihar Police, Jitendra Kumar had told reporters that around 1,550 preventive arrests had been made in connection with the bandh.

The protest was soon marred by violence, with clashes first erupting in Phulwari Sharif where at least 25 people were reported to be injured due to stone pelting by miscreants. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the armed district police were called in to rein in the violence, and they resorted to tear gas lobbing, lathi charge and firing.

On December 23, 2019, a fact-finding team under the aegis of the Human Rights Law Network and a CAA_NRC Legal Support Team visited the city of Aurangabad, Bihar to investigate the events which led to extreme police brutalities against the residents of the city in the wake of the protests.

On December 26 and 27, 2019, another team of 14 members from organizations like Aman Biradari, Mahila Samaj, National Alliance of People’s Movement, Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression along with the CAA_NRC Legal Support Team visited Phulwari Sharif near Patna to investigate the violence that had taken place during the bandh in the area.

Aurangabad Fact Finding

The fact finding team spoke to victims, locals, journalists, and the police and district administrations to understand what happened during the protest.

They report that the protest was peaceful till half past noon, but suddenly turned violent after some local leaders and miscreants allegedly affiliated to right wing engaged in a heated argument with the group of the protesters. Soon thereafter, stones were designedly pelted on the protestors near Jama Masjid, by few persons who were neither part of the protest nor local residents, with the intent to both delegitimize the protests which had protestors from all religious communities as also to communalize the issue, that is, to make it primarily a ‘Hindu versus Muslim’ issue. To which the protesting group also retaliated by resorting to pelting of stones. The local administration and the police did intervene. However, subsequently, and under the garb of maintaining public order, the police allegedly unleashed exceptional brutality on the residents of five colonies being Qureshi Mohallah, Shahganj, Islam Toli, Pathan Toli and Ansar Bagh.

The police dispersed the hostile groups and headed to the neighbourhoods mentioned above. Aman, (name changed) a victim and local resident, deposed “the police team, barged into the residences, damaged private vehicles, ransacked homes (includes firing of teargas shells inside homes), assaulted men, women and children inside their homes. They also looted them of their money and jewellery, damaged/broke appliances, furniture, utensils, grills, hand-pumps and many other household articles.”

Men, women and children alike, sustained injuries. Accounts from locals say that there were no female police personnel were part of these raids and the women were allegedly dragged by their hair by the male police personnel. More than 12 people sustained injuries, with 4 being in a critical condition after having sustained multiple fractures and other external injuries. A total of 39 people were arrested till December 23^rd, including 3 women and 3 minors.

Sahil (name changed), a victim and eye witness told the team, “Even the senior police and administrative officers were involved in pelting of stones inside homes.” In one of the videos collected by the team, the District Magistrate, Aurangabad could be seen holding stones in his hand.

In sum and substance, the police allegedly unleashed exceptional brutality and terror with impunity in Muslim neighbourhoods. Residents claimed that this was done in unity by the State Government, District Administration and the local police just to remind the people of the community that they were lesser beings. An FIR was also registered by the local administration against 84 named accused and 100-150 unnamed people for offences punishable under the Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act, among other sections of the IPC, mostly on manufactured accusations.

Phulwari Sharif Fact Finding

According to the fact-finding team, multiple incidences of violence took place in various parts of Phulwari Sharif, all of which were allegedly organized by right-wing forces.

On 21st December, 2019, protestors assembled near Tumtum Padav which is a central location in Phulwari Sharif. A larger gathering was at Thana Chowk where the maximum police force was deployed. A smaller group which was at Tumtum Padav attempted to move forward on the main road towards Sangat Muhallah. In the meanwhile, stone pelting started from the rooftops of different buildings in Sangat Mohalla to which the group of the protestors also retaliated by resorting to stone pelting. In the meantime, dozens of gun shots were also fired from the side of Sangat Muhallah. At around 12:30 pm, a man was apprehended by a group of right wing associates and was inflicted a dagger blow. Allegedly, a Hanuman Idol was also damaged.

The team reported that in total, 7 protestors sustained gunshot injuries, with shots being fired by the residents of the Sangat Mohalla, allegedly linked to right-wing forces. The same finds corroboration from the testimony of the S.H.O., Phulwari Sharif. In the violence, 2 critically injured constables were admitted to AIIMS Hospital. An 8-year-old boy, Amir Hanzala, was missing from the place of occurrence and a single woman, a resident of Phulwari Sharif allegedly faced mob violence at her house by the right-wing forces with around a 100 men pelting stones at her and her family.

It was also found that that though the police had the situation under control by around 3 PM, at 4:30 PM, a group of young men entered the Haroon Colony waving pistols and hurling abuses. They pelted stones at some aged persons and though the police was present there, it didn’t intervene.

The police later registered an FIR against 101 named and 1000 unnamed people for offences punishable under Section 307 and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 49 people were arrested in the matter.

An FIR was also registered in the case pertaining to the disappearance of Amir Hanzala, and from discussions with the police personnel, journalists and other witnesses, there is serious apprehension regarding his safety. However, it is prima facie clear that the police, for inexplicable reasons, have not taken adequate emergent measures to trace/recover the missing boy. The aggrieved father of the boy has been unfailingly visiting the police station for over a week, where from he is yet to get any valuable information.

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The Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union (AMUSU) has come up with a report after conducting its own inquiry into the violence that took place on campus on the night of December 15, 2019. The report squarely blames the university administration for being in cahoots with the police and Rapid Action Force (RAF), for virtually allowing them to unleash brutality against students.

The report also reiterates that the previous protests had been peaceful and the violence at the post-Jamia protest was the result of unknown outsiders infiltrating the protest and causing violence in a bid to give the security forces a reason to retaliate with even more violence.

Excessive force

Describing the unwarranted use of violence, the report alleges that the police did not follow standard operating procedures for crowd control and instead resorted to extreme measures at the very outset itself. It says, “They did not warn or go by the standard way of dispersing crowds. They chose tear gas shelling over water cannons, which could (have) done the job perfectly. They directly fired at students like an invading army does. In complete violation of standard manual, police used pistols, rifles and stun grenade on students. Reports of pellet gun use have also been in public domain. Police made sure that the eear (sic) gas shells, sound blasts and Lathis rain on the students. Videos have recorded the use of stun grenades, rifles, stone pelting, abusive language and religious slurs, ruthless beating by the police and other forces. In a widely circulated video on social media, RAF men are seen pointing rifles straight at boys. This may be known that students were hit above the waist height.”

Communal slurs

There are also allegations that a section of the security forces that include the RAF also used objectionable language and religious slurs while beating students. The report alleges, “Besides, physical violence, police was specific in verbal violence. They forced students to recite Jai Sri Ram, and other Hindu slogans. The used the words like Pakistani, Desh Drohi, Sala, Maa…., aatankawadi and others specifically to students both during torture in campus and in hospital and during detention. Students were told not to condemn CAA as it was anti-national to do so.”

Ethnic targeting of Kashmiri student

A Kashmiri student Shahid Hussain was one of the students who was smoked out of room number 46 of Morrison Court hostel where AMU administration alleged that the masterminds of the operation were holed up. But the AMUSU report paints a different picture saying, “Shahid Hussian, a student of MA History at Centre for Advanced History of Aligarh Muslim University. He was taken out from room no. 46 of Morrison Court and beaten inside the hostel. He was dragged into the police van and asked about his domicile state. Once he told them that he was from Jammu and Kashmir, he was tied to a tree and beaten for 10 minutes by police using Lathis and Gun butts. He was ethnically targeted and called names. He was called a Pakistani and was told that he is being Azaad with every whip of the stick. He was brutalized and sent to illegal detention. His mobile was broken and taken away. He was kept in a dark room for the night without any humanitarian aid. He had torture marks from head to toe. JNMC doctors had to capture 16 X-Rays to assess his conditions.”

AMU administration’s alleged role

The report saves some of the most scathing commentary for the AMU administration saying, “Mr. Tariq Mansoor, Vice Chancellor of AMU gave approval to police to enter the campus and hunt down the peacefully protesting students of the university. AMU became a military garrison.” The report adds, “AMU administration created a narrative of possible communal riots the next day and an acute fear psychosis engulfed the university, and the students were asked to leave the place without delay. Phone calls were not being responded by the registrar or Vice Chancellor. A false propaganda was manufactured by AMU administration that there is a threat to university and students. The fact remains that the AMU administration wanted to choke the peaceful dissenting voices in the campus of Aligarh Muslim University that had unnerved the Union Government. In line with the wishes of the state, AMU administration wanted to curb AMU students from raising their genuine voice against the unconstitutional Citizenship (Amendment) Act.”

The entire report may be read here:

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90 days down, the build up to an All India University Strike

It has been close to three months since the‪ #Occupy UGC movement started as a spontaneous response of students to UGC's utterly rash decision of discontinuation of the non-NET fellowship scheme.

Due to the sustained protests, the government was compelled to review the decision, pass it on to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) which has further passed the matter on to a Review Committee. There is still no clear communication from the Government about the proceedings or decisions of the MHRD, the UGC or the Review committee on the status of the non-NET fellowships.

Over two months ago, on November 5, 2015 the HRD Minister, Smriti Irani had given certain reassurances to the protesting students. There has been no clear-cut reassurance however, from the MHRD, backed by any written order (government resolution) indicating clearly that the fellowship(s) would be either enhanced or expanded. When she met the protesting students, Irani had also assured them of fair representation before the Review Committee; far from representation, for over a month after the first protest, students were not even given an appointment with the Ministry. On January 13, 2016 when irate students finally blocked the road in front of the MHRD, they were given an audience with officials in the MHRD, but not with the Minister.

The workings of the Review Committee meant to look into the usefulness of the fellowship are also suspect. Students were first put in touch with the head of the Review committee who informed them of the Committee’s meeting slated for January 16, 2016. Since then however students have been informed that no further date for any meeting has been fixed. This has been the reason, among others of the decision of the protesting students to intensify the protest. The #Occupy UGC group of protesting students has called the attitude of the government towards students' issues ‘irresponsible’ and further criticized the government for lack of accountability in the functioning of the UGC and the MHRD.

The indefinite delay on part of the government in resolving the issue — discontinuation of the non-NET fellowship scheme that benefits students with lack of opportunity and access—is completely unjustified and intolerable. There is a sense of restlessness and impatience at the absence of any written commitment, Order or GR from the MHRD.

Hence the next one month will see spiraling protests:
1)   A nationwide signature campaign will be started on the January 18, 2016 reiterating the demands for an increase in the budgetary allocation to the non-NET fellowship and an expansion of the non-NET scheme to state universities without any exclusionary criteria, for all research scholars. Also, the signature campaign will raise the demand that the overall budgetary allocation for education be increased to 10 per cent in the upcoming budget session, as fund-cuts in education under World Bank and WTO diktats are undermining the education system in the country.

2)   The signature campaign will conclude by the February 15, 2016 and students from all Universities have been urged to send signatures sheets to the JNU Students' Union office till February 17, 2016. The signatures will be submitted to the MHRD, the President of India and the Prime Minister of India. The signature campaign will also run online, to ensure maximum participation.

3)   The #Occupy UGC Campaign has also called for an All-India University Strike on the February 18, 2016 in all Central and State universities, demanding adequate funds for research fellowships. On the day of the strike, the signatures collected thus far will be submitted to the MHRD.

References:
1. To Study or to Not be Able to Study
2.  Where is the news? Peaceful students protest faces police brutality in Delhi
3. Why higher education in India must not bow to the market

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