Male Constable Punched So Bad In Stomach, I Puked Blood: Jamia Girl

The brutality unleashed by Delhi Police against students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and residents of Jamia Nagar wanting to carry out a rally against Citizenship Amendment Act to the parliament on Monday has left several students severely injured. These students were taken to Al Shifa Hospital in South Delhi where they complained of injuries in their lower abdomen area, private parts, difficulty in breathing, anxiety etc. Protesters alleged there was lathi-charge, dissemination of some kind of chemical gas and stomping on their feet with spiked shoes worn by constables.

SheThePeople spoke to Imaan Usmani, a female student of JMI admitted in the hospital who told us that women were leading the rally from the frontline to challenge police tactics. "We saw that the main police officials were pushing women in their 40s and 50s so all of us female students came in the frontline and we asked the police to go behind the barricade which they had put up to stop us from marching ahead. The female constable started pinching me and provoking me saying 'Tum agar marne aayi ho toh mar hi jao, yahi maar denge tumko (If you have come to die then die, we will kill you here itself)'. Then a male constable backed the female constable and said 'if you are feeling hurt right now and if we come at hurting you then you people will not be able to take it.'"

Also Read: Police Hits Women on Private Parts During Anti CAA Rally: Reports

The march had to begin from Holy Family hospital in South Delhi and was supposed to head to the parliament. However, the police barricaded in front of the hospital and didn't let the protesters march ahead.

Students Speak

"I was shocked by their language and asked them if they are threatening us, then he didn't respond to it. Since the march was uncontrollable, there was a huge push from behind and so another male constable stomped on my foot. It severely injured me as his shoes had nails attached to them. All the male constables were wearing those boots and they were pushing us back and I was wearing my shoes but I had lost one of them and that's when he stomped on it. They were pulling us by our hijaabs which they then tied around our necks and strangling with it. Most of the protesters were not injured but they fainted due to suffocation," said Usmani, a first-year B.A. (English Honours) student of JMI.

She also claimed that the police used some kind of chemical gas after sunset to disperse the crowd. "During all this push-and-pull, a male constable pushed me in the stomach so bad that I started puking. There was blood in my vomit. Then an ambulance came and rushed me to the hospital," Usmani alleges.

Usmani also spoke to her friends who were part of the rally and were detained. She tells us that the detainees were put through mental torture. "Police told them 'Kashmir mein jo haal kiya hai usse bhi bura haal karke dikhayenge tumhara and they slapped her (Chanda Yadav) They took her phone as well,'" Usmani told us what she heard.

We confirmed Usmani's statement about Yadav (another student of JMI) with her and she said that it is all true. Recounting the incident, Yadav told us, "They detained me around 3.30 pm, in the afternoon, and when they forced me inside the bus, a male constable slapped me and said 'Tum zyada protest karogi? Abhi hum batate hain' (Do you want to protest more? Let us show you) Then they snatched my phone and threatened to do worse with me if I speak up more." She added that she was released around 7.30 pm which is when she got her phone back. Yadav also alleged that since she was badly injured in her abdomen area and chest due to lathi-charge and punches thrown at her by police, she asked them for medicine which they denied.

"I have received injuries in my stomach, hands and chest because they were raining punches and sticks at us. More than women constables, male constables were beating us up. Their shoes also had some sort of pointy thing so when they trampled on our feet, they wanted to crush it and any body part that they could reach once we fell on the street," said Yadav.

Usmani who has been part of several protests in the last two months says that this time, she saw a lot of hatred in the eyes of the police. Comparing this attack with the last incident of police brutality against Jamia students on December 15 last year, she said, "That was a blatant attack but this time, the tricks they used to attack us helped them fool the media. This time they used pins, pinches, female constables were using some kind of sharp object to hurt us and they were saying 'Abhi aur nochenge tumko (We will pinch you more). They had a shield in front and from behind it, they were ruthlessly poking us with sticks. They used different chemical gas this time to disperse the crowd."

I have received injuries in my stomach, hands and chest because they were raining punches and sticks at us. More than women constables, male constables were beating us up. -Yadav

Hospital Speaks

As per Usmani, around 500-600 people were part of the rally. Syed Maghroob, Al Shifa hospital PRO, said, "Injured students started to come to the hospital from around 5.30 pm and continued to come till 11.00 pm. A total of 34 persons including students of Jamia visited the hospital for treatment of which seven were admitted. Of these three students are in the ICU namely Zubair, Rashid and Tehseem. One girl (Imaan Usmani) and two boys (Munnawar and Afaan) are admitted in the general ward. One woman was also admitted in the ICU but she left the hospital in the night itself going against medical advice. They have all received abdomen injuries due to lathi-charge."

Mudassir Azeem, Casualties In-Charge, elaborated on the injuries and said, "Initially 16 persons came to the hospital, who were mostly Jamia students. Most of them complained of stomach ache, chest pain, assault and police hitting them with sticks. Some of them weren't fully conscious because of injuries and pain. We stabilized them and managed their pain. Some of them weren't able to breathe properly because they had injuries in the chest so we gave them oxygen and mobilized them. In the initial investigation, we did some tests for abdomen injuries and chest issues. Then more patients arrived in the hospital till late at night.

In total two women and one man complained of injuries in their private parts. They are admitted and are serious cases. They said that they were hit with legs and sticks in their private part. The male patient has been gravely injured in his scrotum." On asking for any further serious injuries, he said, "We have come across patients who came with hidden injuries who must have injured around 5 pm but came around 10 pm and complained of aggravated pain."

In total two women and one man complained of injuries in their private parts. They are admitted and are serious cases. They said that they were hit with legs and sticks in their private part. The male patient has been gravely injured in his scrotum. - Mudassir Azeem

Police Speaks

Despite the videos and pictures of students with bloodied injuries all over the internet from the agitation on Monday, students' testimonies and doctors' statements, DCP, South-East Chinmoy Biswas has denied usage of any sticks, pointy shoes, chemical gas and brutal assault on the protesters to curb the march. On asking about the injuries students have received due to the assault, he said, "There was some scuffle that happened at the barricades which might have injured some students and the police staff has also sustained injuries. The doctors may have said something but we haven't hit anyone. If anyone has received injuries then we will inquire into and will investigate it."