NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police is examining several mobile phone videos to identify protesters allegedly involved in the assault and obstruction of police personnel during a Congress protest near Jantar Mantar, police sources said on Thursday.The footage, including videos showing women police officers and constables allegedly being assaulted, is being analysed to establish the sequence of events and identify those involved, the sources said, as cited by news agency PTI.The police are also examining footage from other sources to identify people who allegedly manhandled or obstructed personnel deployed to maintain law and order during the protest.
FIR likely over alleged assault on police
Delhi Police is likely to register an FIR under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to assault on public servants, obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties and other applicable sections, the sources said.The investigation comes after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, along with their supporters, staged protests on Tuesday and Wednesday over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Around 90 people, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were detained by Delhi Police on Wednesday after they were stopped from proceeding towards Jantar Mantar.Both leaders were later released from police detention a little after 8 pm.Rahul Gandhi was taken to Barakhamba police station, while Priyanka Gandhi was taken to Chhatrasal Stadium, officials said.
Police examining social media videos
The latest video examination is also taking place amid police action over social media posts related to the protests.The Delhi Police had asked a social media platform to remove or restrict access to 11 posts and videos that it alleged presented a misleading account of police action during a recent protest.In notices issued under the Information Technology Act, the police alleged that some protesters had pushed against personnel, removed or jumped over barricades and attempted to proceed despite restrictions imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).The police said personnel subsequently restrained or detained some protesters while discharging their duties.According to the notice, some videos “appear to be selectively” portraying the subsequent police intervention as “misbehaviour or unwarranted use of force”, while allegedly leaving out the preceding acts of obstruction, resistance and non-compliance.The police described the portrayal as “selective, misleading and contextually incomplete” and said it could create a false narrative about the conduct of its personnel, provoke public reaction and undermine confidence in law-and-order measures.
Congress protests over electoral roll revision
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were among opposition leaders and Congress workers who travelled towards Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, but police stopped them from proceeding further.The protesters then staged a sit-in near a roundabout close to the Shangri-La hotel in central Delhi.Priyanka Gandhi and several women leaders lay on the road while carrying a copy of the Constitution. Security personnel subsequently removed the protesters from the spot.“This is how they treat members of Parliament who are asking simply to meet the election commissioners. This is how they treat us. They are beating members of Parliament,” Priyanka Gandhi said.The detentions came a day after Delhi Police registered an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and their supporters over allegations that they forcibly entered Akashvani Bhawan during a protest on October 6.
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Police said the FIR followed a complaint alleging that the two Congress leaders, their supporters and other MPs entered the premises without permission.Medico-legal examinations were also conducted on two security guards who allegedly sustained injuries when protesters tried to enter the building.On Tuesday, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were among around 260 people detained after an over eight-hour sit-in inside Akashvani Bhawan following an opposition march towards the Election Commission office.Delhi Police had said no application seeking permission for the march had been submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, and no permission had been granted.
