Bloodied Uniforms, Broken Helmets: Cops' Families On Jantar Mantar Violence

The family members of Delhi Police personnel shared their harrowing and traumatic experiences of seeing their loved ones come under attack while on duty at the recent protest over exam paper leak in Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

They pointed out their loved ones who serve in the police department were simply doing their duty and they don't deserve to be abused or labelled as aggressors.

"Behind a uniform, there is not just a policeman. Behind him is his mother, father, wife, children, and the entire family who wait late into the night for him to return home safely," a woman told reporters.

A Delhi University student, Kunjal, said his father is a sub-inspector and had also served as a Marine Commando in the Indian Navy.

"My father was at the main protest site. He was in the front line near the barricades, where there was a massive crowd. Whenever my father came home at night, he would say that this no longer looked like a student protest and that many anti-social elements had joined it," the student said.

"The very next day, on the 25th, my father was pulled by a mob and was almost lynched near the stage at Jantar Mantar. He was unconscious at the hospital for about four hours. Around 10 pm, my father's colleagues brought him home. His uniform was completely red with blood," Kunjal said.

"Seeing him like that was incredibly painful for us. When we asked him 'papa, how did this happen', he replied, 'child, it's nothing, minor injuries keep happening while on duty'. But he had four stitches on his head, which was not a minor injury."

What hurt him the most was that when he went on social media, people were portraying his father as a "criminal".

"The next day, when I found out that the people who attacked my father were going to the Supreme Court to wash their crime and file complaints against all the police officers, I felt deeply hurt. I felt that I should also go to seek justice for my father. I received support from other police families as well."

Seema, whose husband is an assistant sub-inspector, joined the force as a constable 33 years ago. "During the Jantar Mantar protest, he was also assigned duty. The protest was supposed to be conducted peacefully. He was performing his duties with full alertness. On July 20, he left early, taking his tiffin from home as he does every day. When I spoke to him around 11 am, he told me on the phone that the crowd at Jantar Mantar was quite large that day, and the protesters were marching towards parliament."

"I was worried and told him to take care of himself. I didn't speak to him after that. At 7 pm, when I called and spoke to him, he was admitted to hospital, undergoing treatment. He said the crowd had become highly aggressive and that mischievous elements had mixed in with them. They attacked and injured the police personnel using flowerpots, whatever they could get their hands on, slippers, shoes and stones. This is also visible in a video clip. After that, his phone battery died, so we couldn't speak," Seema told reporters.

She said that until he returned home, the emotional toll on her was painful. "The helmet provided to my husband for his duty was completely shattered. If a piece of stone had hit his head after the helmet broke, he might not be in this world today. Thinking about this, and hearing him tell it, my soul shuddered wondering what would have happened to me and my family," she said.

She appealed to political leaders to hear their voices because, according to her, the "only narrative being pushed is that the student protest was brutally suppressed and students were beaten by the police."

"But that is not true. Only one side of the protest is being shown, while the reality of the other side is completely different. I urge my elected representatives to raise issues in parliament regarding this."

Lakshya Singh Bisht, whose father is an assistant commissioner of police with four gallantry awards in his career, was injured on the head. "When I saw a photo, his head had been shaved, and he had about four stitches. Seeing that, I was really frustrated and very scared. When my father came home, he told me that the student protest wasn't just students; it included rowdies and aggressors who were using the opportunity just to create chaos."

The protest led by the satirical political group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the exam paper leak was called off after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister.

The CJP was created by Abhijeet Dipke, a Boston University graduate who recently returned to India to lead the protest over paper leaks.