RAF personnel used firearms on protesters during CJP’s ‘Chalo Sansad’ march on July 20: Report | Today’s news
Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel deployed in New Delhi’s Connaught Place fired at least seven pistol rounds during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest march to Parliament. Of these, five rounds hit the protesters while two hit the ground, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) found.
The development comes days after The Indian Express reported that the CRPF had launched an investigation into whether RAF personnel used firearms during a crackdown on protesters supporting the CJP’s demonstrations demanding the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
RAF personnel used firearms: Here’s what the probe found
According to the IE report, at least three people suffered gunshot wounds during the march and were treated in hospitals. They included Irshad Sheikh, 25, who works in Gurgaon; Sahil Lochab, 19, a student at Delhi University; and a 28-year-old journalist with Outlook magazine.
Citing a source, the report added: “Five of the rounds hit the protesters and two hit the ground. The shots were fired after the protesters attacked the security personnel and started throwing stones.”
The report added that the CRPF examined the diary entries made by RAF personnel and found that a single personnel fired all seven rounds at Connaught Place.
CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh reiterated his earlier statement: “Now that the agitation has been called off and the people gathered have dispersed, we would do a professional post-event assessment, as we do after every major engagement, and then share the force headquarters’ view.”
Internal control signals outages
On 26 July, IE reported that RAF Inspector General Seema Dhundhia told staff that the “fall of force” used for crowd control during the protest march on 20 July did not meet the RAF’s prescribed standards or training protocols. The observation came after an internal review revealed serious operational lapses.
A force gradient refers to the different levels of force police are likely to use depending on the resistance or threats they face.
Last week, Dhundhia held a press conference with company commanders and commanders in Delhi, during which she reviewed the role, deployment and conduct of RAF personnel during the Jantar Mantar protest and the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march. A number of corrective actions for future deployments have also been established.
Staff have also been instructed that during future law and order duties, force must be used only to the extent necessary and in a balanced and sensitive manner. They were ordered to issue the necessary warnings before the use of force.
Citing CRPF sources, India Today reported that more than 47 RAF personnel were injured, some seriously, in the Connaught Place area.
Protest by the Janta cockroach party
The CRPF’s findings come almost a week after Delhi Police resorted to lathi charge and tear gas to disperse protesters marching to Parliament on July 20 in support of the CJP’s protest over alleged irregularities in the education system and the NEET-UG paper leak.
Despite the use of force, protesters continued their demonstrations at Jantar Mantar for the rest of the week, while large protests were also witnessed in several other states.
