Panel claims Kumar forcibly made to issue statement dictated by the police
Panel claims Kumar forcibly made to issue statement dictated by the police
Coming down heavily on the Delhi police, an NHRC probe team on Friday said that the physical assault on JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar on the court premises appeared to have been “organised and pre-planned.”
It also said Mr Kumar was subjected to psychological pressure and was made to issue a statement before he appeared in the court, owing allegiance to Constitution which was dictated by the police.
“Kanhaiya Kumar was abused and physically assaulted by some persons dressed as advocates in the Patiala House court premises on February 17. He was even physically assaulted inside the adjoining court room in the presence of police who did not do anything to prevent the assault or apprehend the attackers even though they were identified by Kanhaiya Kumar then and there. The physical assault on Mr Kumar in the court premises appears to be organised and pre-planned,” a report submitted to the NHRC by a fact-finding team of the commission said.
The NHRC team said what happened in the Patiala House courts complex on Wednesday when Mr Kumar was attacked was a major security lapse on the part of the police.
“There was serious dereliction of duty on the part of the police. Going by the sequence of events, the safety and security of Kanhaiya and his family members is a serious cause of concern,” the committee said.
In a damning indictment of the police, it said the statement which was issued by the force as an appeal on behalf of Kumar was not written by him voluntarily. “The content, construction and framework of the statement were as dictated by the police.”
The panel, which visited Kumar in Tihar jail on Thursday, quoted him as having said that he was arrested without any valid reason and without disclosing to him even grounds of arrest.
“He had not committed any offences as now alleged. However, this aspect is under investigation by the police. Kumar did not complain of any physical assault by the police while in custody. However, he was subjected to psychological pressure during interrogation,” it said. A copy of the inquiry report submitted by the NHRC teamhas been forwarded to Delhi police commissioner B.S. Bassi and the director-general of Tihar Jail. The commission, which had earlier issued notices to the Union home secretary, Delhi Chief Secretary, Delhi police commissioner and registrar of Jawaharlal Nehru University, sent the team to Tihar to ascertain the treatment meted out to Kumar by the police.
Cops mull reward for Umar arrest The Delhi police is mulling to declare a reward for arrest of JNU student Umar Khalid and others who have evaded arrest in connection with an event in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised in the varsity campus.
Mr Khalid has been untraceable since the arrest of the JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar. Several teams of the Delhi police, including three from special cell, have been conducting raids in several states, but so far Mr Khalid and other suspects in the case have not been traced.
“We are also taking legal opinion in this respect. We think that declaring a reward on Umar’s head will help the cops in nabbing him,” said a source. When asked about the issue, a senior police official indicated that the police might declare a reward soon.
The source said that the police has spoken to around 100 JNU students and has taken statements of about two dozen students. “We have come to know that Umar was in touch with several people who might have links with suspected banned terrorist organisations,” the source said.
When asked whether any of the suspects had any links with Pakistan terror outfit Jamaat-ud Dawa, the source said nothing could be ruled out.
