The students of Jamia Millia Islamia on Monday alleged that they and other protesters who had taken out a march till the Parliament earlier in the day were manhandled by the police and students were hit on their private parts.

An anti-CAA march led by Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) from Jamia campus to Parliament on Monday was stopped by security forces near Holy Family Hospital in Okhla.  The protest was against CAA, NRC and NPR, contentious decisions by the government which had triggered massive protests across the nation.

News agency quoted Safoora, one of the core members of Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) as saying, “I was caught between 4 policemen who refused to budge even though they saw that I couldn’t breathe at all and I was fainting…I fell down. I was between their legs for more than 5-6 minutes. They kept ignoring me.”

“One of my friends found me…he saved me. I wouldn’t be alive otherwise. When he begged them to give me space to breathe they kept taunting him. It was terrorising,” she added.

The doctors who attended the injured students stated, “Most of the injured students have complained about being hit on the stomach, others have talked about severe neck pain due to dragging from the neck.”

Answering on the claims that the students were hit on their private parts, the medical officer said, “No such complaints have been conveyed to us.”

Jamia Millia Islamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar, along with other senior officials of the varsity, visited Al Shifa to see students injured during the stand-off with Delhi Police earlier in the day.

A senior Jamia official said, “Though there was no baton-charge by Delhi Police but some instances of scuffle had left minor injuries to our students. Najma Ma’am went to see them.”

On December 15, violence erupted following a clash between police and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students who were protesting against the amended Citizenship Bill. At least five buses were set ablaze. Police used batons and teargas and were seen chasing protesters through the streets.

The chief proctor of Jamia Millia Islamia had earlier accused the Delhi police of forcefully entering the university campus and beating up the students.