New Delhi: In a statement that may go along way in India judicial history, JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has told a Supreme Court-appointed lawyers’ probe panel that he was mercilessly beaten up, pushed to the ground and injured by men in lawyers’ robes before the police, when he was brought to the Patiala House court premises on Feb. 17.
“When the police brought me inside the court’s gate, a mob of men in lawyers’ robes attacked me. It appeared as if they were ready to attack and they were calling others also. I was assaulted.“The police escorting me tried to save me but the police officials were also beaten up,” he said while narrating the sequence of events to the lawyers’ panel in a video shown on television channels today.
The panel of 6 advocates — Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan, Dushyant Dave, A D N Rao, Ajit Kumar Sinha and Haren Raval, had visited the Patiala House courts premises on Feb. 17 after the apex court was informed that Kanhaiya was beaten up during his production before the magistrate.In another instance when he was attacked, the police, who were there, did not do anything, he said.
After Kanhaiya narrated the incident to the panel inside the courtroom, Sibal called DCP Jatin Narwal and enquired from him about it.“How did you allow the attack to take place inside court premises? Your men were there. What were they doing? How he (man who attacked Kanhaiya outside the gate of the courtroom) was allowed to come inside,” the panel members asked the DCP.The panel members then asked Kanhaiya as to whether he could identify the policemen who were present there and the man who assaulted him.
He replied, “I can identify. I had told the police that this man had assaulted me and I want to file a complaint against him. He was the first person who had assaulted me at the gate.”At this juncture, the panel members told the DCP, “His safety is your responsibility. Do not give excuses. This is unbelievable. You are now under Supreme Court’s order and not B S Bassi’s order.”Kanhaiya told the panel that the persons who attacked him were “highly politically motivated persons.” He said he had narrated the incident to the magistrate during the hearing.