Families of detained NEET protesters seek answers from Delhi Police

Families of students detained after the Cockroach Janta Party's 'Sansad Chalo' protest said they were unable to contact their relatives or ascertain whether charges had been filed, even as Delhi Police registered multiple FIRs over the violence during the march

New Delhi: Families of students detained during the Cockroach Janta Party protest in Delhi said they had been unable to contact them for hours and did not know whether any charges had been filed, as concerns mounted over the whereabouts of those detained.

Kartikyen, a resident of Tilak Nagar, said his 20-year-old brother Harshit, who had appeared for the NEET examination twice this year, was picked up during the protest and was believed to be at a police station in northwest Delhi.

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“We last spoke to him around 1.30 pm on Monday and have not been able to contact him since,” Kartikyen told PTI.

“We are on our way to a police station in the Shalimar Bagh area and, upon reaching there, we will know more,” he added.

In another case, the family of 26-year-old Amit Upadhyay, a law graduate from Delhi University who is currently pursuing an LLM, said he had also been detained and was being held at another police station in northwest Delhi.

They said they were trying to meet him but had not been informed when he would be released or whether any charges had been invoked.

“My elder brother is detained in the Jahangirpuri area. We are trying to get more information so that he can be released as soon as possible,” Saurav, Amit’s younger brother, told PTI.

Along with the detentions, family members said that amid paper leaks, delayed results and mismanagement in the country’s education system, families now also had to worry about possible legal issues.

“My brother had to appear for NEET twice in one year. How is it possible that demanding reforms in the education sector results in police detention?” Kartikyen said.

The detentions came after thousands of protesters marching towards Parliament over education reforms clashed with police in central Delhi. Security personnel used batons and tear gas after demonstrators allegedly attempted to breach barricades near Parliament Street.

According to police officials on Tuesday, Delhi Police has registered four FIRs so far and is in the process of filing two more in connection with violence, vandalism and other incidents during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and farmers’ groups on July 20.

More than 118 police personnel, including several senior officers, were injured and around 70 protesters were detained after a protest by the CJP in the New Delhi area turned violent.

According to student associations, hundreds of protesters, most of them students, were injured during the protest.

According to lawyers associated with the protesters, 38 detained protesters were initially taken to Burari police station before being shifted to Chhatrasal Stadium later in the evening.

The lawyers alleged that they were not allowed to meet the detainees or speak to police officials at the stadium, making it difficult to ascertain whether any FIRs had been registered, formal arrests made, or charges, if any, invoked. They said they were continuing efforts to gain access to the detainees and facilitate communication with their families.

The protest, called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), drew thousands of participants, including members of student organisations AISA, KYS and SFI, as well as professionals demanding education reforms following the NEET-UG paper leak and alleged discrepancies in Class 12 results caused by the newly implemented digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

Police had earlier said protesters attempted to break through barricades while marching towards Parliament, prompting the use of force to disperse the crowd.