Students of the top five medical colleges of Delhi were treated to water canons, teargar and lathicharge when they demonstrated against the 50% reservations in medical colleges.
NEW DELHI: Water cannons, teargas and lathi charge. Students of the top five medical colleges of Delhi were treated to these when they decided to demonstrate in a peaceful manner against the proposed 50 per cent reservations in medical colleges.
According to Anirudh, one of the doctors at the site, “We told the police that we were planning a peaceful march and they gave us the permission.”
He also added that the students were constantly in touch with the police and had in fact asked them if the protest was legal. Students even offered to give the police a list of those participating in the march. “In fact, it was the cops who told us that Arjun Singh would be at his house till 4 pm and then all hell broke loose and we were thrashed with lathis,” adds Anirudh.
Girls from Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) had a tough time too. “When we started from our college in the bus, a little distance away, several male cops got into the bus and pushed us around. Then, they forcibly evicted us from the buses at Jantar Mantar and surrounded us,” said one of the students who didn’t want to be named.
Shweta, another LHMC student, recounts, “Once we reached the area, the male cops manhandled the girls. We were beaten by lathis on our thighs.”
The students had initially planned a peaceful march to go and speak to Arjun Singh. “We tried everything to get an appointment with Arjun Singh and the ministry. We even approached the health ministry to help us, but to no avail,” said Anirudh.
Students also allege that they were receiving threatening calls from the cops two days before the march. “They said that we should not go ahead with the protest. They even threatened that they would charge-sheet us and destroy our careers. The cops warned us that our harassment was just about to begin,” said Sajan Jiv Singh, a student at AIIMS.
There were no comments issued by the HRD ministry after the incident. About three hundred protestors were arrested by the police. According to Anand Mohan, DCP, New Delhi, “No force was used. We simply wanted to contain the students. No injuries was caused to anybody.”
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