BJP is using police as private army: Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the city’s police on Monday of terrorizing protesters after video footage of them belting university students with sticks at a peaceful demonstration went viral.

“Del pol being used by BJP/RSS as their private army to terrorize n teach lesson to anyone opposing BJP/RSS. I strongly condemn attack on students,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Delhi University students staged a protest in the Indian capital last weekend over the death of a young Dalit scholar who committed suicide after he was suspended from a campus in the country’s south.
Video of the protest held outside the headquarters of a right-wing Hindu outfit shows police hovering around the placard-waving and chanting students before suddenly beating them with wooden sticks and their fists.
The students are heard screaming and running away as police chase them, with some grabbing protesters by the hair and pinning them to the ground.
“There was no provocation from the side of the protesters. It was a small group, non-violent and unarmed. The police could have easily managed such a small crowd without using brute force,” photographer Vikas Kumar, who covered the protest, said on the Catch News website.
Police have ordered an inquiry into the violence which sparked outrage on social media Monday, while the video was being played repeatedly on India’s TV news channels. “We have ordered an inquiry into the incident and are analyzing the video,” police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP.