"I was about to collapse," CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas said after his detention on Sunday. His allegation is stark: he was grabbed by the neck, pinned down to a seat inside a bus and choked before being taken to RML Hospital for treatment.
Brittas was speaking to mediapersons a few metres away from a group of protesters when personnel from the Rapid Action Force and Delhi Police detained him at Connaught Place. The protest was against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, scheduled for 10 am, following a call by AISA national president Neha.
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"I had gone to Connaught Place after getting information that some student leaders had been detained. I was standing on the road and talking to some journalists when CRPF men forcefully detained me and threw me in a bus. They pinned me to a seat after grabbing me by the neck and choked me. It was only after a Delhi Police DCP's intervention that I was allowed to go," he said.
"I had been telling the CRPF men that I am an MP. But they didn't listen and assaulted me," he added.
A video later shared by CPI(M) showed Brittas lying on the steps of a bus and panting, with another person assisting him. "While in the van, DCP Sanchit Sharma was calling on my mobile. He seemed to have found out that I was taken away. There was this boy from Jharkhand, Saijith, with me. He helped me take the phone call," the MP said.
A senior police officer said Brittas was detained after he refused to move from the area despite repeated requests. "His allegations of assault inside the police van will be investigated," the officer added.The incident took place as Brittas, who was surrounded by cameras as he spoke to journalists, criticised the police action. "Whatever the Delhi Police is saying and doing is against the pronouncements of the Supreme Court... Delhi Police cannot become a state. The state has become Delhi police now... students are being thrashed... In a Capital city, four or more people cannot come together, they can be thrashed and detained. Is this democracy... Internet shut down... is also being denied. Every protester's face is being covered by the police with their camera...," he said.
Brittas wrote to the President, the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India seeking urgent intervention, accountability and an independent investigation.
CPI(M) condemned the action, alleging Brittas had been brutally attacked. “He was later dropped by the roadside, visibly injured and in distress. Delhi Police has crossed all limits!”
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Several other Left leaders, including CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, Brinda Karat, M V Govindan, P K Sreemathy and P Rajeev, were also detained on Sunday. CPI national secretary Annie Raja was also detained along with activists.
When an MP is treated like this on camera, what happens to ordinary students off camera?
Tags: #JohnBrittas #CPIM #RajyaSabha #DelhiPolice #ConnaughtPlace #AISA #Detention #Democracy #RMLHospital #LeftProtest