00:00I want to cut across because this was John Pritas. He's a member of parliament.
00:05There were students as well yesterday who wanted to protest but was dealt with allegedly brute force.
00:11I want to cut across to three students. Sneha is with me. Manish is with me. Lucy is with me.
00:18Sneha, would you want to tell us what happened with you?
00:49What happened to you?
00:50We were brutally detained. Brutally detained in such a way that we were dragged along the roads.
00:57In that also, we were taken behind the barricades. Everyone who was detained, it's not like they didn't put us
01:03right into the bus.
01:05But they detained us and they have put us behind the barricades, made us collect, sit down.
01:10We were surrounded by police officers all across.
01:13When we started recording, everyone's phones were being taken away.
01:17We were told that you are not supposed to film.
01:19So they had cut off in any sense, any kind of evidence that these people have been detained.
01:25Multiple level of students and youth that had come across, their phones were being taken off.
01:31And then we were herded like cattle into these buses, these buses which had small, small jail-like compartments, iron
01:40rod compartments, where we were all herded in.
01:43We were all females and there was not a single female constable with us.
01:48And when we started screaming about it, men were also shoved in with us.
01:53Again, not a single female officer was with us and we were herded off along and we were taken to
02:00police station and then we were taken off into another banquet hall.
02:03We were detained by 2.30 and we reached our destination there by 3.00.
02:09We were identified and then we were to sit over there and the police kept us till 9 o'clock
02:15at night, 9.30.
02:16We kept asking, according to the sunset laws, they were like, oh, you guys can leave, the females can leave
02:21after causing ruckus by 6 o'clock.
02:23And they were like, you should leave the men behind.
02:26Simultaneously, we got to hear that in other police stations, the men and female people were like hit and multiple
02:35levels of brutality was being heard of.
02:38And they were not being given medical attention.
02:40This has been going on for the past one week.
02:42So, we have been very concerned where, how this thing is going on.
02:47Right now, we hear the fact that Jantan Mantra is now being removed as a designated protest zone.
02:52Where are we supposed to gather and protest?
02:56And with the brutality that the police is dealing, my friend was hummed by police officers.
03:01Who is there?
03:08These are grave allegations, Sneha, and I really hope that they are looked into.
03:12Very grave allegations.
03:13I want to bring in Manish.
03:15Manish, what happened with you?
03:19I went yesterday to join Sneha's call at ISA's call.
03:25But by the time I reached, they were already detained and I was just standing there and filming.
03:30It was quite a dystopian situation.
03:33There were lots and lots of forces there.
03:36And all of us were just standing there and watching and filming.
03:40And at some point, some of the RAF people came and they asked us to move.
03:45So, I went and I moved.
03:47And that people were still standing there.
03:49So, I just stood there.
03:50Basically, I just kept following their orders.
03:52And eventually, I kept walking ahead as they asked us to move.
03:56But then, somehow, at one point, someone came.
03:58One of the RAF people came from behind and they grabbed me.
04:01And because I think they clocked me a couple of times, they were like, let's take you now this time.
04:06And then, they dragged me.
04:08There were like five to six people who dragged me across the road, took me to the other side, to
04:12another lane.
04:14And they handed me over to some other force, which had these khaki uniforms with camouflaged pockets.
04:22They are not any police.
04:23I think there are some other squad.
04:25And they became quite brutal.
04:27They started pulling my head.
04:29They started pushing me.
04:30They asked me to sit down on the ground while all of them would sort of circle around us
04:34and stand and look down at us.
04:37And I was sitting on my knees.
04:39But they were like, no, you have to sit down on your butt and you have to sit cross-legged.
04:44And so, until then, they would just like name call me.
04:47And none of them had their name tags on.
04:51Eventually, the police van opened.
04:53They sort of picked us up.
04:55They didn't even ask us to go outside.
04:57Why, you let go, Manish?
04:58Sorry?
05:02Can you say that again?
05:04What time were you released?
05:079.15.
05:08What time were you released?
05:13And this is after being assaulted is what you are alleging?
05:18Yeah, I was assaulted while being detained.
05:21Around 3.30.
05:22And then I was released around 9.15.
05:30I want to bring in Lucy.
05:32Lucy, what happened with you?
05:35Okay.
05:35So, I was there at the protest.
05:38I had not started sloganeering or chanting.
05:41I was just looking around for where Neha was and other members.
05:45And then I think the police just saw my colourful lipstick and just came to me and said, come
05:54with us, come with us.
05:56And they started taking me back.
05:57I asked them all about my rights.
06:00What am I doing?
06:02For what reason you are detaining me?
06:04What is the, are you detaining me or arrest me?
06:07They would not answer at all.
06:08And then they started ragging me off and I started chanting the slogans.
06:14And when I went, they took us back beside the barricaded place where no media personnel was allowed.
06:21And they made me and other women as well sit down on the floor and threatened us that they will
06:32snatch away our phones if we even try to record them.
06:37And they were, we saw how they were pushing other protesters, male protesters into the vans and buses and beating
06:46them up.
06:47It was kind of scary.
06:59You know, Lucy, what time were you released?
07:02I was released at 9, around 9 p.m.
07:07I don't think Lucy can, yeah.
07:10I was released around 9 p.m.
07:12You know, thank you.
07:12You, all three of you, your allegations are grave.
07:15Some of, your allegations are grave.
07:19Some of the visuals that have been streaming in since day before yesterday, highly disconcerting.
07:24And we really hope action is taken.
07:27And thank you for joining us and sharing your stories with us this evening.
07:31Thank you for doing that.
07:32I want to view us now, through, this was yesterday.
07:37Then, yesterday evening, the top court of the country sent a contempt of court notice to the Home Secretary and
07:44to the Commissioner of Delhi Police.
07:46And possibly that is why we didn't see the kind of crackdown by the Delhi Police and other authorities today.
