Syed Ali Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, MAY 17—After arresting several students from the Jamia Millia Islamia University linking them with northeast Delhi violence in February this year, the Delhi Police Special Cell grilled Chandan Kumar, MA(Hindi) final year student of the Jamia for three days in a row, questioning him about his participation in anti-CAA protests that was organized by the Jamia Coordination Committee, a body comprising current and past students of the university.
Chandan, who was active against the CAA protest in Jamia from day one, was first picked up by police on May 13 from his residence in Khanpur. Before that he was issued a notice under Section 43F of Unalwful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Special Cell which stated, “In connection with the case – case FIR no 59/2020 – you are requested to join the investigation on May 13 at 2 pm. If you fail to appear, appropriate legal action will be taken against you. This may be treated as urgent.”
When Chandan got calls from police to cooperate in investigation, he told them he would like to join the investigations through video-conferencing because of fears of Covid-19 as one of the police constables had contracted Covid-19 infections. But police insisted him to come in person to the police station.
Speaking to India Tomorrow, Chandan said, “I was taken to Lodhi Colony Police Station where my grilling began at 2 pm on May 13. I was then dropped at my house at 9.30 pm. The next day, I was picked up again and questioned till 9.30 pm. On the thtird, I was again taken to the police station, made to sit for hours and then dropped back at my house”.
He said that a team of police personnel questioned him in connection with the CAA, the NRC and the NPR. “They came to question me one by one. They humiliated me. Their questions were about my role in the protest, why did I protest, who asked me to join the protest, who was behind organizing the protest, how many students were in the protest, what are their names?”, Chandan alleged.
He said that most of the time, he was asked to sit idle, just watching the policemen playing badminton.
Kumar alleged that he was abused and threatened of dire consequences if he joined the anti-CAA protest again. “But this can’t deter me for joining the protest again”, asserted Chandan.
“This kind of humiliation is not going to end the protest. Protesting against the government policy and law is democratic right of the citizens. Torturing the protesters, booking them under stern laws suggest a kind of dictatorship”, he philosophized.
When asked about abuses and indecent behaviour of police with him, he said, “yeh to unki bhasha me hota hai. Main apne parivaar me pahli generation ka bachcha central university me padne ayah hun. Ham log yahan padne ke liye aaye hain. Ham violence nahi karte. Lekin ham chup bhi nahi baith sakte. Aane wali generation ko kya muh dikhayenge.” (This is in their language. I am the first person in my family who have come to study in a central university. We have come here for study. We don’t want violence. But we cannot remain silent also. What answer will we give to our next generation if we don’t protest against the unconstitutional CAA?).
Chandan is associated with the All India Student Association (AISA) and he lives alone in Delhi. His parents are in his native village in district Saharsa in Bihar. He has informed them about the police action against him.
Chandan was also beaten up by police when the cops entered the Jamia library and campus on December 15 last year. Chandan has sustained injuries in his head. His name was also mentioned in the FIR registered in the New Friends colony Police Station.
In a statement AISA said, “Delhi Police after adding charges of UAPA to the FIR, was targeting and witch-hunting students. In order to hide its own violation of law, the police have summoned Chandan. It has arrested, harassed and intimidated peaceful anti-CAA-NRC-NPR protestors. The actual instigators of violence are Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma who go scot free, and those who provided weapons, such as Manish Sirohi, got bail.”
The police have invoked UAPA against several students including former JNU student leader Umar Khalid and Danish, a resident of Bhajanpura in northeast Delhi. The police have arrested Jamia student Meeran Haider, JCC media coordinator Safoora Zargar, Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) president Shifa-ur-Rehman, former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan, social activist Khalid Saifi and AAP councillor Tahir Hussain under UAPA for riots in northeast Delhi.
