New Delhi, July 25: A special commissioner of police was among three police officers injured after a section of protesters allegedly pelted stones at security personnel at Jantar Mantar shortly after the announcement of Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on Saturday, police sources said.
The incident prompted security forces to lob tear gas and resort to a mild lathicharge to bring the situation under control, sources added.
The violence erupted when a section of the gathering allegedly turned aggressive as senior police officers were overseeing crowd management at the protest site, the sources said.
According to the police source, the special commissioner of police, Anil Shukla of the Special Cell, along with other senior and field officers, was at the forefront of efforts to regulate the crowd and prevent any breach of security arrangements.
As officers moved closer to the protesters to maintain order, some demonstrators raised slogans while another group allegedly began pelting stones without any provocation, said the source.
The special commissioner sustained injury during the stone-pelting and was immediately evacuated by police teams to a nearby hospital for treatment. Two other police officers also suffered injuries in the incident.
CJP volunteer claims cops detained members
A Ghaziabad resident volunteering at the ongoing CJP-led protest against alleged paper leaks at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has alleged that police detained his family members in Ghaziabad and harassed his relatives in Meerut because of his role in the agitation. However, police denied the allegations made.
‘Strict action against those who attacked journalists’
Criticising attacks on journalists at a protest march over the NEET paper leak, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday assured strictest action against the miscreants under the recently passed Goonda Act.
Making a statement in the West Bengal Assembly on the attack on reporters and photojournalists by Left student groups in Kolkata, he said that around 70 people have been identified who were present but had nothing to do with the protest.
CJP claims Delhi cops restricting food and water
The CJP on Saturday urged the Delhi Police to immediately stop what it described as the “unlawful detaining and intimidation” of citizens attempting to reach Jantar Mantar, and called on the force to refrain from creating an atmosphere of “fear and siege” around the protest site and stopping food and water from reaching them.
Lawyers protest at Tis Hazari against cop action
More than 60 lawyers practising in various district courts of Delhi on Saturday gathered at the Tis Hazari court complex to protest against the police crackdown on protesters during the CJP’s march towards Parliament from the Jantar Mantar on July 20. (Agencies)
