Police used excessive force on protesters: V K Singh
1 Jan 2013 11:39 PM GMT
Former army chief General (retd) V K Singh on Monday accused Delhi Police of using ‘excessive force’ on people protesting the gang-rape of a woman and demanded that the capital’s police be brought under the control of the Delhi government.
‘Excessive force has been used. The police have been abusive and have done things which were not required. Delhi Police should be brought under the Delhi chief minister,’ Singh told reporters here. Hundreds of protestors, most of them youngsters, had protested at India Gate following the 16 December gangrape of a 23-year-old woman here. Police had used batons, tear-gas shells and water cannons to disperse the protesters. Several protesters and security personnel had been injured in the clashes. Delhi Police constable Subhash Chand Tomar died after collapsing on the road during the protests.
Singh blamed the government and the opposition for not understanding the ‘anger of the youth’ and said that the ‘government and the opposition have failed us’.
‘I completely support the youths and their anger is justified. If people want laws to protect their mothers and sisters, then the government and opposition should work on it,’ Singh said. He added that a special session of parliament should be called to frame laws that ensure safety of women. Reacting to comments by some politicians that women should ‘dress appropriately’, Singh said the problem was not with clothes but with mindsets of people, which needs to be changed.
‘Excessive force has been used. The police have been abusive and have done things which were not required. Delhi Police should be brought under the Delhi chief minister,’ Singh told reporters here. Hundreds of protestors, most of them youngsters, had protested at India Gate following the 16 December gangrape of a 23-year-old woman here. Police had used batons, tear-gas shells and water cannons to disperse the protesters. Several protesters and security personnel had been injured in the clashes. Delhi Police constable Subhash Chand Tomar died after collapsing on the road during the protests.
Singh blamed the government and the opposition for not understanding the ‘anger of the youth’ and said that the ‘government and the opposition have failed us’.
‘I completely support the youths and their anger is justified. If people want laws to protect their mothers and sisters, then the government and opposition should work on it,’ Singh said. He added that a special session of parliament should be called to frame laws that ensure safety of women. Reacting to comments by some politicians that women should ‘dress appropriately’, Singh said the problem was not with clothes but with mindsets of people, which needs to be changed.
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