23 held in India Gate protest accused of assaulting police, outraging modesty of female staff

New Delhi, Dec 5 (PTI) The 23 demonstrators arrested in the India Gate protest case face grave charges, including for assaulting and outraging the modesty of female police staff, using chilli spray on a constable, and raising slogans for a Naxalite, police said.

An investigation report in connection with the case was submitted to a magisterial court on Thursday by the Delhi Police.

The demonstrators gathered on November 23 to protest against the worsening pollution crisis in the national capital, but the situation intensified as some demonstrators allegedly used chilli spray on police personnel while being removed from the site and taken to the Parliament Street police station.

At the police station, they were allegedly involved in another scuffle with the escorting officers.

A case in the matter was registered at the Kartavya Path police station and police arrested the accused.

The report by the police details allegations ranging from organising the protest, glorifying Madvi Hidma, circulating digital posters, and coordinating mobilisation through groups to physically obstructing police personnel, assaulting female staff, and possessing pepper-spray bottles.

According to police, the protest was organised primarily by members of the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), which officers described as the "main conspirator group".

The report states that several accused were visible in videos raising slogans in support of Madvi Hidma and blocking roads around India Gate and Parliament Street.

The first accused named, Gurkirat, is described as the president of the BSCEM and administrator of the group's channels. Police alleged that she, along with two other members, attended an anniversary programme of the banned Radical Students’ Union in Hyderabad and raised pro-Naxalite slogans.

The report further alleges that BSCEM's social media pages carried posters "glorifying" Hidma.

Co-accused Anvinash Satapathy, Akshay E R, and Ayishah Wafiyath Midhath have also been described as active members of the organisation, with police alleging that they participated in slogan-shouting, obstructed police work, dismantled barricades, and circulated posters. One of them is alleged to have sprayed the chilli spray into the eyes of a police constable.

The police report names others -- including Vishnu Tiwari, Prakash Kumar Gupta, Vageesha Anudeep, Sameer Fayis, Karina Sunderani and Priti Rani Chandraker -- whom they accuse of raising slogans, possessing pepper spray, and obstructing the gate of the Parliament Street police station after several protesters were detained.

It also lists 17 additional accused who allegedly reached Parliament Street from India Gate after the initial detentions and "stopped police officials from working", leading to a separate case being registered against each of them.

Investigators told the court that the probe is still at an initial stage, and the roles attributed to each accused may evolve as further digital evidence, mobile phone data, and interrogation findings are analysed. PTI SSJ PRK PRK