NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Delhi Police of brutally assaulting Youth Congress workers detained during protests against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, alleging that a Delhi University student from Kerala had lost hearing in one ear after being struck by police personnel.
At a press conference with protesters who alleged police brutality during Tuesday’s demonstration, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha highlighted the case of Athira, who claimed she was assaulted inside a police bus after being detained.
“Athira from Kerala has lost her hearing in one ear. She is deaf in one ear because she was struck on that ear. She can no longer hear. Last time I showed you a boy who was blinded. Now, she is deaf in one ear,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Athira alleged that there were no female police personnel on the bus when protesters were detained. She said she had asked for a female constable to be present during the detention of women.
She claimed the bus subsequently stopped outside the Connaught Place police station, where police personnel repeatedly struck her on the cheek, leaving her with an eye injury and damage to her ear.
Another woman worker of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) also accused Delhi Police of assaulting her during Tuesday’s detention. Introducing her as “our sherni”, Rahul Gandhi said she had been beaten but remained unafraid and had no hatred in her heart.
The woman said NSUI workers were protesting peacefully when they were detained in three buses, with around 30-40 people in each vehicle. She alleged that when protesters tried to stop a bus and continued their demonstration by sitting beneath it, Yadav grabbed her by the neck and pushed her backwards onto a seat.
“She then scratched my face with her nails, leaving scratches across my face and near my ear. When I resisted her, she slapped me so hard and said, ‘Here, take another slap across your face,’” she alleged.
Another protester alleged that he and a colleague were beaten by 15 to 20 police personnel inside the Parliament Street police station after being detained. He claimed that an officer, identified as Constable Ankit Kasana, continued to beat them during their journey from the police station to the outskirts of Delhi.
The protester further alleged that when his colleague complained of feeling like vomiting, the officer told him to vomit into his bag. Police personnel also allegedly told them, “Because of you, we are unable to sleep.”
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