PoliticsProtests
NSUI chief Vinod Jakhar detained outside police station while seeking FIR for women workers
The Congress student wing says a woman police officer assaulted its women members and that senior officers refused to register a case. Police have not responded.
Key points
- NSUI president Vinod Jakhar and several members were detained at Parliament Street police station, the NSUI said.
- The group wants an FIR against a woman police officer it accuses of assaulting its women workers.
- It says an Additional DCP declined to register a case on Wednesday.
Delhi Police detained Vinod Jakhar, national president of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), along with several members of the group, during a protest at Parliament Street police station on Thursday, the NSUI said.
The students had gone to demand an FIR against a woman officer of Delhi Police whom they accuse of assaulting NSUI women workers. Jakhar alleged that some of the women were taken into a dark room and beaten with shoes and boots. The NSUI says it approached senior officers, including an Additional DCP, on Wednesday, and that no case was registered. It has not said when or where the alleged assault took place, and the officer has not been named.
“Is demanding justice for our women workers a crime?” Jakhar asked, saying the group had come only to get an FIR lodged and that the DCP would not engage with them.
Ravi Pandey, the NSUI’s national media in-charge, demanded an immediate FIR and an impartial inquiry. He accused Delhi Police of acting under political influence and of shielding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, against whom opposition groups have been protesting in the capital since 10 October.
Delhi Police have not responded publicly to the detentions or the complaint.
It was Jakhar’s second brush with the police in a day. In the early hours of Thursday he was among the Congress leaders detained at India Gate with the parents of Ankita Bhandari, who were protesting against the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. They were released at about 5 am.
The NSUI said it would step up its protests if no FIR is registered.