Court Orders Custody for 17 India Gate Protesters Amid Naxal Link Probe
A Delhi court has sent four individuals to two-day police custody and thirteen others to judicial custody for one day following a protest against air pollution at India Gate that turned violent on Sunday. The decision came during a hearing before Judicial Magistrate Sahil Monga, who was addressing a case registered against seventeen people at the Parliament Street police station.
Police Allegations and Custody Requests
Delhi Police sought seven-day custody for four of the seventeen protesters while requesting extended judicial custody for the remaining thirteen. Police presented multiple allegations in court, claiming that ten police personnel were attacked with pepper spray during the demonstration against poor air quality.
In a significant development, police informed the court they are investigating potential "Naxal links" after protesters - predominantly students - allegedly raised slogans in support of Naxalites. The prosecution alleged the accused were "Naxalites" supporting militant movements in Jharkhand and referenced a purported video on social media platform X showing one participant at the 50th anniversary of Radical Students Union (RSU), a banned organization.
Law enforcement authorities claimed to have recovered pepper sprays and chilli powder from the accused. They further alleged that several CCTV footage from Parliament Street police station, where the accused were detained, shows them assaulting police personnel.
Defense Arguments and Legal Challenges
Defense lawyers Nizam Pasha, Sowjhanya Shankaran, Ahmad Ibrahim, and Deeksha Dwivedi presented counter-arguments during the proceedings. They noted that while the FIR mentions an altercation between protesters and police at the station, custody was being sought for different reasons in remand papers.
The defense team contested the introduction of allegations regarding accused support for RSU in the current case. They cited relevant judgments, arguing that since the maximum punishment in the FIR is five years, the accused shouldn't have been arrested without written reasons from police.
Lawyers emphasized that grounds for arrest had not been provided to the accused, raising procedural concerns about the detention process.
Broader Arrest Context and Environmental Protest Background
The court proceedings represent part of a larger response to Sunday's environmental protest. In total, twenty-three students were arrested during the air quality demonstration, with two separate FIRs lodged by authorities.
While seventeen protesters faced charges in the Parliament Street police station case, six others were arrested under the case registered at Kartavya Path police station. The FIRs include charges related to assault, obstruction of public servants, and outraging the modesty of women under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Among those named in the official complaints are Delhi University students associated with the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch and Himkhand, an environmental research and action collective. The case continues to develop as police pursue their investigation into the alleged Naxal connections while defense lawyers challenge the legal basis for the arrests.
