Delhi: 6 arrested at anti-pollution stir sent to police custody to probe ‘pro-Maoist’ slogans

A Delhi court on Wednesday remanded six college students who were arrested after a protest against air pollution to police custody for three days.

Judicial Magistrate Arindam Singh Cheema of the Patiala House Court said that police custody was warranted in view of the seriousness of the allegations, the need to “unearth the larger conspiracy” and the need for effective investigation.

The students were accused of using criminal force against police personnel and shouting pro-Maoist slogans at the protest at India Gate on November 23.

Some of the protestors had allegedly used pepper spray on police personnel while being removed from the site, while some had allegedly displayed posters and shouted slogans hailing Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, who was recently killed in a gunfight with security forces.

Five of the demonstrators were sent to judicial custody for two days on November 24, while one was sent to an observation home under the Juvenile Justice Act while his age was being verified.

On Wednesday, the six persons were produced before the court again as their judicial custody period ended. During the hearing, the investigating officer produced documents showing that the sixth accused person was also an adult.

The prosecution argued that police custody was needed to interrogate the accused students about the alleged pro-Maoist slogans, examine their call records, identify other conspirators, look into funding sources, identify the source of the pepper spray and analyse mobile chats on planning and coordination.

The police said that Maoist violence is a serious threat and contended that the students' actions could encourage such activities and demoralise security forces.

The additional public prosecutor, representing the state, said that a lenient view could not be taken of the students just because they are young and educated. He noted that those who are accused of having carried out the bomb blast near the Red Fort in Delhi on November 10 are also “young, educated and allegedly brainwashed”.

The police claimed that the students' allegations of having been subjected to torture in custody were false and were meant to “overawe the police officials not to take legal action against such illegal activity”.

The lawyers for the students opposed police custody, saying that the students had no links to banned organisations, that no new evidence was produced in 48 hours to justify police custody and that the police were making exaggerated claims.

Some lawyers argued that their clients “did not even know Hindi” and that chanting slogans critical of the government is protected under the right to free speech.

The judge, however, said that the videos shown by the police showed the students pushing over barricades despite being told that India Gate was not a designated protest site, and that the videos showed slogans being shouted in support of Hidma.

“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, integrity and security of India,” the court said.

The protest on November 23 was mainly organised by a environmental research and action collective called Himkhand and the student groups Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch and Scientists for Society.

Participants said the protest centred on air pollution for the first hour, but subsequently, some demonstrators crossed police barricades and shouted slogans about the killing of Hidma on November 18. The police then began detaining people.

By late evening, 23 individuals had been detained from India Gate, Kartavya Path, and later from outside the Parliament Street police station. One case was registered against six persons at the Kartavya Path police station, and another first information report was filed against 17 persons at the Parliament Street police station.

The cases were initially filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to assault, obstruction of public servants and outraging the modesty of women. On Tuesday, the police also added charges pertaining to making assertions prejudicial to national integration to the FIR registered at the Kartavya Path police station.

The 17 persons named in the case filed at the Parliament Street police station were on November 24 sent to three days' judicial custody.

Source: Scroll
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