Families of four Delhi Police personnel injured during the July 20 CJP-led ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on Friday (July 31) urged Parliament to discuss the injuries suffered by police personnel, saying public debate has largely centred on allegations of police excesses while overlooking the trauma faced by officers and their families.
At the Constitution Club of India, the wife of an ACP, the wife of an ASI, and the children of two injured officers described waiting anxiously for updates from hospitals, seeing bloodied relatives return home and later finding little mention of police casualties in public discussions.
Upneet Kaur, wife of an injured ACP, recalled the night her husband came home wounded. She described it as “traumatic” for her and their two-year-old daughter.
According to her, officers repeatedly appealed for calm before bottles, stones, slippers and other objects were hurled at them.
‘Behind every uniform…’
“Behind every uniform is not only a police officer; there is also a wife, children, parents and an entire family. We want people to understand that,” she said.
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The families displayed photographs of injured personnel and claimed that more than 250 police officers were hurt. They also alleged that barricades, protective gear, government vehicles and other property were damaged during the violence.
One-sided narrative
Seema, whose husband serves as an ASI after 33 years in Delhi Police, said she learnt he had been admitted to LNJP Hospital after the clashes.
“When I spoke to him, he told me that some anti-social elements in the crowd attacked policemen with stones, flower pots, slippers and shoes. After that, his phone battery died, and I was terrified,” she said.
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Her husband returned home later that night with a broken helmet. “Had another stone struck his head after the helmet broke, he might not have survived. But for days, only one narrative has been discussed – that police used brutality against students. That is only one side. We want what happened to police personnel and their families also to be discussed in Parliament,” she said.
The families said they were not blaming students, alleging that anti-social elements had infiltrated the gathering. Kunjal, whose father, a sub-inspector, was injured, said, “My father was deployed on the front line at the barricades. He told us how anti-social elements tried to create chaos.”
Call for recognition
Lakshya Singh, son of another injured ACP, recalled, “His head had been shaved, and there were stitches. I was frightened.”
“Whenever I go online, I see videos portraying only the police as criminals. There is no discussion, even in Parliament, about the police personnel who were injured. We only want our side to be heard,” he added.
(With agency inputs)