AISA alleges Delhi police personnel sexually assaulted 2 women students during protest

PTI, Oct 13, 2021, 9:08 AM IST

The left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) Tuesday alleged two women students were sexually assaulted by Delhi police personnel while they were part of a protest on Sunday near Home Minister Amit Shah’s residence, allegations rejected as “totally baseless” by the force.

The AISA has called for a protest on Wednesday outside the Delhi Police Headquarters at Ashoka Road here against the alleged assault.

Members of the AISA were detained Sunday as they staged a protest near Shah’s residence here demanding the expulsion of MoS Ajay Mishra over the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which Mishra’s son is accused of mowing down farmers with his vehicle.

The AISA alleged in a statement that the protesters were immediately detained and forcibly removed by the Delhi Police. The women protesters were targeted separately for sexual assault, it alleged.

A senior police officer said, “Twelve protestors were detained in connection with the protest outside the Home Minister’s residence and were released later.”

No such complaint of sexual assault has been received so far, he said.

The AISA in the statement said, “We demand that ACP Chanakyapuri Pragya Anand, who clearly instructed the personnel on site to assault the women protestors, be sacked and all the personnel who carried out the sexual assault either as perpetrators or voyeurs be suspended and reprimanded.”

When asked about the allegations against ACP Chanakyapuri, the officer said the claims are “totally baseless”.

Eight people died in the October 3 violence and of them, four were farmers allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Infuriated farmers then allegedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.