Three days since July 20 violence, Delhi Police, MHA yet to acknowledge police excesses
Three days after several videos of police using disproportionate force, including pellet guns, against unarmed men and women during the July 20 march to Parliament
Three days after several videos of police using disproportionate force, including pellet guns, against unarmed men and women during the July 20 march to Parliament emerged on social media, the Delhi Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had yet to issue a statement or clarify their position. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday (July 23, 2026) that “a series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students” were being taken, there was no assurance from the government on probing the “police excesses” against the protesters. On Wednesday (July 22), the Delhi High Court sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police on public interest litigation petitions alleging the excessive use of force against demonstrators during the July 20 march to Parliament called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Another case seeking an investigation into the CJP protest is listed for hearing on Friday (July 24). The court also instructed the authorities to preserve all material connected to the police action, including CCTV footage and any video recordings of the incident. Over 100 police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were also injured in the incident. The Hindu reported about two persons, who were hit by pellets allegedly fired by RAF personnel, being operated upon at government hospitals. One of them, Sahil Lochab (19), risks losing vision in the right eye due to a pellet piercing his pupil, his family said.
On Wednesday (July 22), Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Sandeep Lamba, who was seen in a video slapping a woman on July 20, was removed from protest-related duties around Jantar Mantar and sent to north-east Delhi, his original place of posting. Another video showed a police officer allegedly molesting a woman with a wooden stick. Huge push Recounting the July 20 incident, Eenesh (26), a resident of Chhattisgarh, who was among the first ones to be injured in police action near Jantar Mantar, said, “none of the protesters attacked the police. There were thousands of people in that small protest area which was blocked by high barricades. I was in the front when a huge push came from behind. Several people fell on the ground toppling the barricades. That is when the police started hitting us with batons. I saw 200 people being injured by police lathis.” Mr. Eenesh has been in Delhi since June 20 when the CJP protest started. He was on a hunger strike for seven days and continues to stay at the protest site with a bandaged wrist and knee. He refuted the police claim that protesters threw bricks at them. “You look around Jantar Mantar, there are no places where people could find loose rocks to throw at police. There was no space even to move,” Mr. Eenesh told The Hindu.
The BriefWire