Protesters had gathered for a march to Parliament on July 20, stating that the demonstration would be peaceful. When it began at 9 am, the atmosphere was calm. However, after barricades were breached and protesters started moving forward, the police resorted to a lathi-charge and tear gas shelling.

We spoke to some of the protesters, who reported injuries ranging from head wounds to injuries on their arms and legs. Police protocol dictates that blows should not be aimed at the head, yet some of the protesters we interviewed had sustained head injuries.

Their injuries didn’t deter them. Many of the injured returned to the protest site. We also spoke to a member of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) core team, who confirmed that around 50–60 people who had sustained injuries on July 20 had come back to Jantar Mantar to show their support. Among them were students and UPSC aspirants who had travelled not only from Delhi but also from other states to take part.

Ahila, a native of West Bengal who is currently studying in Delhi, had come to support the protest march on July 20 and was demonstrating peacefully when she was caught in the lathi-charge, sustaining injuries to her arms and legs. She said her college reopens on July 28, and that she intends to stay on to support the movement until then.

Sonu Yadav, a native of Madhya Pradesh currently pursuing an MA in Political Science, has been at the site for the past ten days to support the protest. He said, “The police started lathi-charging the protesters without any provocation. Some officers were in plainclothes and lacked nameplates. We will stay here until our demands are met.”

Watch this ground report. 

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