Kanhaiya subjected to psychological pressure: NHRC

Coming down heavily on the Delhi Police, an NHRC probe team on Friday said the physical assault on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students’ leader Kanhaiya Kumar on the court premises appeared to have been “organised and pre-planned”.

It also said Kumar was subjected to psychological pressure and was made to issue a statement before he appeared in the court, owing allegiance to Constitution which was dictated by police.

“Kanhaiya Kumar was abused and physically assaulted by some persons dressed as advocates in the Patiala House court premises on February 17. He was even physically assaulted inside the adjoining court room in the presence of the police, who did not do anything to prevent the assault or apprehend the attackers even though they were identified by Kanhaiya Kumar then and there. The physical assault on Kumar in the court premises appears to be organized and pre-planned,” a report submitted to the NHRC by a fact-finding team of the Commission said. 

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team said what happened in the Patiala House court complex on Wednesday when Kumar was attacked was a major security lapse on the part of the police.

“There was serious dereliction of duty on the part of the police. Going by the sequence of events, the safety and security of Kanhaiya and his family members is a serious cause of concern,” the committee said.

In a damning indictment of the police, it said the statement which was issued by the force as an appeal on behalf of Kumar was not written by him voluntarily. “The content, construction and framework of the statement were as dictated by the police.”