Video of Delhi Police beating up students including girls sparks uproar

The Delhi Police is in the line of fire after a two-day-old video surfaced showing men in police uniform, and even in civil dresses, ruthlessly beating up some students. The students targeted in the video were reportedly protesting against the death of Hyderabad University Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula.

Men in Khaki are ruthlessly beating up students, including girls, who tried to stop them from the lathicharge.

The incident happened in the national capital on January 30.

As the video begins, the students are seen raising slogans of "Delhi Police murdabad", but it's followed by a sudden aggression from Delhi Police, who end up beating the students mercilessly, even as they hit at the camera shooting the same.

Reacting to the development, Delhi Commission of Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has said that they would issue a notice to the Delhi Police. They have questioned why there were no female police personnel involved in the action, even as there were women protestors.

The Delhi Police, meanwhile, tried to shift the blame, alleging that the protestors provoked the police personnel. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Delhi Police DCP claimed that the protestors had broken barricades, and threw sticks, charging at the cops.

DCP Central Paramditya said, "It was protesters who provoked first. They threw banners and sticks at us. They broke the first barricade. Then they charged towards the second layer of barricade where max force was deployed."

He further said that an inquiry would be conducted and action would be taken against the defaulters. The Delhi Police, however, said that they were yet to ascertain if women protestors were beaten up by male policemen. "We are going through the video to ascertain that," he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to express his ire over the incident, saying that the Delhi Police was being used as a private army by the BJP and the RSS.

Kejriwal also attacked the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of being "at war with students all across".

The AAP government and the Delhi Police have been at loggerheads for the past few months. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue with Delhi Police.