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New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI): A group of 93 retired civil servants on Friday sought an independent judicial inquiry into the July 20 police action against student protesters in Delhi, alleging that security personnel used pellet guns, electric batons and tear gas against unarmed demonstrators.

The 'Constitutional Conduct Group' also called for action against officers responsible for "illegal and disproportionate" use of force.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Delhi Police Commissioner S B K Singh, the civil servants alleged that Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel resorted to excessive force during and after the 'Sansad Chalo' march on Monday, leaving several protesters seriously injured.

The signatories included former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, former OSD in the Prime Minister's Office A S Dulat, former Punjab DGP Julio Ribeiro, former IAS officer Harsh Mander and several retired IAS, IPS, IFS and other senior civil servants.

The group said one young protester had to undergo surgery to remove pellets from his eye and neck, while a 15-year-old child was among those injured and hospitalised.

"Reports indicate that the Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel used pellet guns, electrical batons (tasers) and tear gas against demonstrators, resulting in serious injuries to several youths, including to a young protester who required surgery to remove pellets from her eye and neck. A 15-year-old child was among those injured and hospitalised," the letter said.

The former civil servants further alleged that several Delhi Police and RAF personnel, including some without name tags and others in plain clothes, "mercilessly" assaulted protesters with lathis, including some embedded with nails.

They also alleged sexual misconduct by at least one policeman and demanded that the officer be identified and given exemplary punishment.

The letter also questioned the presence of "a truck filled with stones" near the protest site despite strict security arrangements, alleged stone-pelting by policemen, and claimed that protesters were rounded up and moved from one police station to another without access to lawyers.

Describing the developments as unprecedented, the signatories alleged that armed police personnel with guns were stationed at the gates of Parliament in anticipation of the march reaching the complex.

The group further claimed that authorities ordered the closure of offices and shops in central Delhi on July 23, imposed internet restrictions and deployed facial recognition vans to live-scan peaceful protesters.

"Facial Recognition Vans were deployed to live-scan peaceful protesters, constituting a violation of the citizen's fundamental right to privacy," the letter said, adding that the technology could be "weaponised as tools of intimidation and suppression of fundamental rights." The retired officials also alleged that CRPF personnel in riot gear were deployed at the protest site and accused the administration of creating stampede-like conditions by confining demonstrators through extensive barricading instead of managing the crowds.

The letter criticised the government's response after the violence, alleging that only "photo-op visits" were made to injured protesters in hospitals, while the list of those arrested had not been made public.

It also noted that the government had remained silent on NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide.

Expressing disappointment over the judiciary's response, the group said, "Perhaps the greatest shock of all is the Supreme Court's reported refusal to hear a plea against police action on young protestors on the grounds that they did not have time to waste by watching videos." The signatories said students had taken to the streets not out of "mischief" but because of repeated examination scandals, paper leaks, administrative failures and alleged mismanagement in the education sector.

"The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution... These young citizens deserve empathy, dialogue, protection and solutions, not pellets and lathis," the letter said.

The Constitutional Conduct Group demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the July 20 police action, including the alleged use of pellet guns and shock batons, immediate suspension and departmental action against officers responsible for ordering or using disproportionate force, unconditional release of detained students, medical care and compensation for the injured, withdrawal of police cases against protesters where there is no credible evidence of violence, structured dialogue with student representatives on examination reforms and accountability of the National Testing Agency, and a review of police crowd-management practices and recruitment procedures.

The group said the use of force against young protesters echoed the handling of protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia in 2019 and 2020 and warned that "repression will only deepen alienation" while dialogue and accountability were essential for democratic governance. PTI AO RUK RUK

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