Police can break bones, not satyagraha: Rahul on assault on students

• Rahul Gandhi alleges Delhi Police are refusing to register an FIR over the alleged assault of student protesters.

• Congress vows legal action over claims that police beat two women and other students during demonstrations.

• Gandhi invokes the Dharasana satyagraha and says police violence cannot break a non-violent protest.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 16 October accused Delhi Police of refusing to register a first information report (FIR) over the alleged assault of student protesters, warning that the Congress would pursue legal action against officers accused of beating them.

Gandhi also invoked the 1930 Dharasana satyagraha, asserting that police could break bones but could not break a non-violent protest.

In a post on X accompanying a video of his interaction with injured students, including members of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Congress’s student wing, Gandhi alleged that two young women — Athira from Kerala and Ritu from Rajasthan — had been beaten by Delhi Police personnel during recent protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over irregularities in the special Intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

'Delhi Police is refusing to register an FIR on the assault of our students. Two young women, Athira from Kerala and Ritu from Rajasthan, along with many others, were beaten by Delhi Police. I have spoken to Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Rajasthan PCC President Govind Singh Dotasra. A Zero FIR has already been registered in Kerala,' Gandhi wrote.

'We will pursue every legal route against the officers responsible, in Kerala, in Rajasthan and in the courts. Brutality by Amit Shah's Delhi Police will not go unchecked,' he added.

Gandhi met the students at his mother Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath on Wednesday. In the video, he listens to their accounts before calling Chennithala and Dotasra and urging them to pursue complaints against the police personnel accused of using force.

Gandhi said the aim was to set an example that would deter others from committing similar alleged acts.

Recalling the Dharasana satyagraha of 1930, Gandhi said Sarojini Naidu had led unarmed protesters who faced police lathis without retaliating. 'Not one of them raised a hand. The world watched,' he said. 'Police can break bones. They cannot break a satyagraha. India's youth, especially young women, are fearless, determined and united. They are standing up for our democracy, and I stand with them.'

The students alleged that police personnel subjected them to inhuman treatment while they were detained, including beating them on their private parts and verbally abusing them in what they described as an attempt to 'teach us a lesson' for participating in the protests.

After meeting the students on Wednesday, Gandhi had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to obstruct protesting students, describing them as the voice of the country. He also assured them that those responsible for alleged abuses, from the prime minister to police constables, would be held accountable.

The allegations follow a series of protests by student organisations and Opposition parties against Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise. Several protesters were detained and taken to detention centres far from the city, according to reports.

On 12 October, the campaign against alleged 'vote theft' reached the Supreme Court, with Opposition INDIA bloc leaders, activists and civil society members undertaking a 'March for Democracy' along a heavily barricaded route and filing a joint petition challenging the SIR and alleged electoral irregularities.

Gandhi also hosted INDIA bloc leaders for tea at his residence on Tuesday. After the meeting, the Opposition alliance vowed to continue its campaign against alleged 'vote chori' and take the fight to its logical conclusion.

With PTI inputs