Activists demand pellet gun ban, withdrawal of cases against student protesters

The Disha Students’ Organisation on Saturday called for renewed protests against examination paper leaks and alleged police repression, accusing the government of failing to honour assurances that cases registered against demonstrators would be withdrawn.

At a press conference titled “The movement against paper leaks, state repression, and the way forward” at the India Women’s Press Corps in Delhi, on Saturday, student representatives, lawyers, academics and activists discussed the recent agitation and its aftermath.

Disha members claimed that the 36-day protest at Jantar Mantar had helped force the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan but described the outcome as only a “partial and symbolic victory”. It said no lasting solution had been found to tackle examination paper leaks or corruption in the education system.

Naureen, representing Disha, alleged that protesters continued to face FIRs, intimidation and visits by police despite assurances that cases against them would be withdrawn. She claimed that the authorities were seeking to exclude certain cases based on when they were registered, whether the complainants were private individuals and whether the students had previous cases against them.

She also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for focusing on the language used by young protesters while allegedly remaining silent on threats, abuse and trolling directed at women and government critics.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves called for a complete prohibition on pellet guns, arguing that their indiscriminate nature made them unsuitable for crowd control.

Referring to litigation concerning the use of pellet guns in Kashmir, Gonsalves said the weapons could not distinguish between those involved in violence and bystanders. He added that metallic pellets could cause severe injuries and prove fatal when fired at the head or chest from close range.

Human rights activist and senior journalist John Dayal compared the alleged crackdown with police action during the anti-CAA and farmers’ movements. He said the agitation against paper leaks had expanded beyond students to include people from different sections of society.

Dayal urged the Citizens for Justice and Peace to support students facing alleged intimidation. He argued that accountability should extend beyond the resignation of individual ministers to the wider system enabling such action.

Advocate Manik Gupta alleged that Delhi Police personnel assaulted and detained him when he visited Nizamuddin police station on July 23 to inquire about students taken into custody. Gupta said he had undergone a medico-legal examination and planned to approach the Supreme Court over the incident.

He further claimed that injured students were prevented from obtaining medico-legal certificates and that surveillance was being used to identify and target protesters.

Soumya, representing the All-India Democratic Students’ Organisation, condemned the alleged use of force against demonstrators and called for continued engagement with young people who had participated in a protest for the first time.

Disha Central Council member Sarthak said the movement had succeeded in reclaiming Jantar Mantar as a site of sustained protest but had failed to secure structural reforms. He reiterated the organisation’s demands to scrap the National Testing Agency and revoke the National Education Policy.

Disha also appealed to progressive organisations to establish a coordination committee and prepare to resume protests at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere. It said the renewed agitation should demand accountability for alleged police action and the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.