Amnesty reports excessive use of force by Indian police against protesters
According to Deutsche Welle English, Amnesty International reported excessive use of force by Indian police during July youth protests of the Cockroach Janta Party movement in New Delhi and the state of Bihar. The human rights organization says law enforcement officers used pellet guns, tear gas launchers, grenades, batons, and electroshock devices.
Amnesty said that its Evidence Lab verified video and photographic materials, as well as eyewitness accounts, concerning the use of these means in Delhi and the eastern state of Bihar. According to the organization, the weapons were used in a manner that violated international standards, Indian policing guidelines, and legal norms.
Videos from Bihar
According to Amnesty, it verified two videos filmed on July 24 during protests in the city of Siwan in Bihar. In the recordings, the organization claims, a police officer uses an AK-type assault rifle against protesters. Human rights defenders said they found no evidence of an imminent threat of death or serious injury that could justify the use of such a weapon.
Bihar police told India’s Supreme Court that one of its constables found himself in a crowd and fired four shots into the air, with no one injured. It also acknowledged that the AK-47 is a platoon-level weapon for special operations rather than crowd control, but denied excessive use of force.
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Delhi police position
Delhi police rejected the allegations regarding the events of July 20, when a march to the Indian parliament was accompanied by clashes. Law enforcement officers told the Supreme Court that they used force only after the protest ceased to be peaceful. Police also said that among the thousands of participants were people it described as anti-social elements, and reported 240 injured officers.
Amnesty noted that it documented isolated cases of protesters throwing stones. The organization also cited testimony from an anonymous participant in the march who said he was injured by pellets. Delhi police had previously called reports of the use of pellet guns against peaceful demonstrators false and misleading.
India’s Supreme Court formed a commission to investigate allegations of violence by police and protesters. The protests, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, began after an exam-question leak for the medical college entrance examination, and the movement later expanded its demands to include unemployment and opportunities for young people.
