Why the police claim that a protest against Delhi pollution had ‘Naxal’ links

What began as a small demonstration at New Delhi’s India Gate on Sunday to highlight the worsening air pollution in the capital has turned into a case involving criminal charges, allegations of police assault and claims that the authorities have reframed the protests as a “Maoist-linked” gathering.

The protest, which started at 4.30 pm, was held under the banner of Delhi for Clean Air.

It was mainly organised by Himkhand, which describes itself as an environment research and action collective, the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch, which says it is a students “committed towards truly democratic society”, and students forum called Scientists for Society.

The Disha Students’ Organisation and the Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India also took part.

For the first hour, participants said, the protest remained focused on air pollution. The situation is reported to have changed after some participants crossed the police barricades and shouted slogans about the November 18 killing of Communist Party of India (Maoist) commander Madvi Hidma, prompting the police to begin detaining protestors.

By the late evening, 23 individuals had been taken into custody from India Gate, Kartavya Path, and later from outside the Parliament Street police station.

On Monday morning, two Patiala House Court judges, hearing the two FIRs, sent five of those detained to two days’ judicial custody. The other 17, including 11 women, were remanded to three days’ judicial custody and taken to Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

One person was a minor and so sent to juvenile care.

There are two sharply different versions of the same protest.

Police FIRs describe the gathering as one where “pro-Naxal” slogans were chanted and officers were obstructed from doing their duty, leading to criminal charges being registered against some participants.

However, lawyers for the detained students and the organisers say the police misrepresented what happened and the protest’s focus was on Delhi’s high air-pollution levels.

Police FIRs

One FIR, filed by an on-duty police officer at Kartavya Path police station, named six individuals, including the minor who was sent to juvenile care.

It stated that despite repeated warnings, these 23 protesters chanted slogans referring to CPI (Maoist) leader Madvi Hidma,who was reported to have been killed by the police on November 18 in what some have alleged was an encounter. The FIR says that the slogans included “Hidma amar rahe”, Hidma will live forever, “Kitne Hidma maroge, har ghar se Hidma niklega”, No matter how many how many Hidmas are killed, a Hidma will emerge from eavery home, and “Hidma ji ko laal salam”, Red Salute to Hidma.

The FIR added that the group “came onto the road”, attempted to stop vehicles and “refused to move” when asked to. It alleges that an ambulance was stuck because of this and accused some protesters of “using force on police officials”.

One woman protester allegedly handed a bottle to a 24-year-old man, identified as Akshay, who “sprayed it on police personnel”, the FIR said. The police did not identify the contents of the bottle.

The FIR also contains allegations from women police officials that some male protesters “misbehaved, harassed, and abused” them.

A second FIR, filed at the Parliament Street police station against 17 individuals, says that they “raised slogans in support of terrorism and Naxalites” and “against the Government of India”.

The FIR stated that outside the Parliament Street police station later, “several male protesters used criminal force against officers, refused to share their names or addresses, and continued chanting anti-government slogans”.

It further claimed that some protesters were “banging their legs and hands on the road” in an attempt to show the police had injured them.

Charges framed

Scroll reviewed the two FIRs to ascertain the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita under which the 22 individuals have been booked.

The first FIR, registered at the Kartavya Path police station, invokes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 74 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage a woman’s modesty), 79 (words or gestures intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 132 and 221 (contempt of the lawful authority of public servants) and 223 (disobedience to a lawful order).

The second FIR lists further offences: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 223A (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant), 221 (obstruction of a public servant), 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint).

Some publications reported that the police later added Section 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita to the case after suspecting that some participants had “Naxal links”. Section 197 deals with statements or claims seen as harmful to national integration and is a non-bailable offence.

However, when Scroll contacted the lawyers representing the arrested persons, they said they had “no official confirmation” that this section had been added.

Allegations of police violence

Lawyers representing the detained students say the protesters emerged from police custody bearing visible signs of assault, a version different from the account put forward by the authorities.

When the students were finally produced in court on Monday, lawyers said one of the young men, a law student namedAkshay ER, walked in with a swollen, bruised nose and injury marks across his chest and back.

His face, they said, had cuts, his right ear showed bruising and despite repeatedly informing police about a knee surgery he had undergone months ago, officers allegedly struck him on the same leg.

His left hand, they claimed, showed deep marks on the knuckles and palm – injuries he said came from officers stepping on it. There were bruises on his neck, a cut along his throat, and his left eye had turned red from continuous slaps.

This man’s photograph has gone viral on Monday, showing police officers pinning him to the ground.

One of the lawyers said they still had no clarity about whether Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 197 had been added to the FIR. They suspected it may be invoked later.

They claimed that the police had “shifted the narrative entirely” about the protest, suggesting that the participants in the demonstration against air pollution had links with Hidma and that the students were “Naxal sympathisers”.

The lawyers alleged that none of the students were told why they were being arrested, nor were their families informed, which they said violates Supreme Court-mandated protocols.

A spray bottle recovered from the protest site has been cited by police, but the lawyers said that there is “no evidence it was used” or that it could constitute any offence.

Most of those detained are college students. One participant whose age officers could not confirm was sent to a juvenile home, the lawyers said.

“Women protesters too alleged mistreatment,” the lawyer said. “Some complained of being touched inappropriately during the detention process.”

The lawyers said they had arrived at the Parliament Street police station around 8 pm on Sunday but were kept waiting until about 6 am the next day. By then, one lawyer said, “the police had already set the narrative”, casting the students as extremists, a move they say may be intended to “deter student protests in the city”.

“Many of the detained students have exams next month,” the lawyer said, adding that the prolonged custody and the allegations being made against them “will have lasting consequences”.

The lawyers also said they have still not been provided with a copy of the magistrate’s order sending the students to custody.

‘Twisted by godi media’

Following the arrests on Sunday evening, one of the organising groups, Scientists for Society, issued a statement clarifying its position.

According to the group, two organisations, Himkhand and Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, began chanting slogans related to the alleged extra-judicial killing of CPI (Maoist) leader Hidma.

“We had clearly told everyone to focus only on pollution and hold the government accountable for its inaction, both past and present,” said a member of Scientists for Society, Aditya Anand. “But things unfolded very differently, and the entire narrative has now been twisted by godi media to portray the protest as one led by Naxal sympathisers.”

Scientists for Society stated that while it “supports an independent inquiry into such encounters and condemns them”, it considered this protest against pollution an inappropriate platform for those slogans.

Scientists for Society said it had not been informed that these groups intended to shout slogans unrelaetd to the event. The organisation claimed it attempted to stop them and, when unsuccessful, immediately distanced itself and continued the protest separately.

The group also condemned the detention of protesters and called for their immediate release.

Moving forward, Scientists for Society said the focus must return to Delhi’s worsening air quality.