ISLAMABAD: India's opposition party called for the government to face international scrutiny after police reportedly beat student protesters during demonstrations against a nationwide medical school entrance exam, according to reporting from the Times of India.
The Indian National Congress party member Rahul Gandhi posted a demand on social media Sunday asking Home Minister Amit Shah to explain how plainclothes officers were deployed against unarmed students, according to the Times of India.
Rahul also demanded an explanation for why internet shutdowns were ordered during the crackdown, Human Rights Watch reported.
The violence erupted after the Supreme Court of India compared protesting students to cockroaches in June, according to Human Rights Watch. This comparison spawned a movement called "Cockroach Janta Party". The movement uses "janta," the Hindi word for people, as a rallying cry against what protesters called government disrespect for youth, as observed by Human Rights Watch.
The Indian opposition leader called the July 20 assault on protesters at Jantar Mantar "barbaric" and said it violated fundamental democratic rights. "Peaceful protest is crucial to any democracy. It is the government's responsibility to protect protestors and resolve their grievances through dialogue," he wrote, according to The Times of India.
He framed his questions as demands for accountability from the nation's top law enforcement official. "Security forces deployed in Delhi answer ultimately to you," Rahul stated in the letter. "Youth and students, the future of our country, are demanding answers and accountability. Their voice will be heard."
He specifically cited 19-year-old Sahil Lochab, whom he met during the protests. The student was shot in the face with pellets and faces permanent blindness, according to The Times of India.
Rahul said Lochab was “merely asking for a clean, fair exam,” before police "raised a gun and badly injured him by firing pellets," The Times of India reported.
The underlying dispute centers on the NEET-UG exam, India's sole gateway to medical school admissions. The test determines access to approximately 98,000 seats in government and private medical colleges across the country. This affects roughly 2 million student applicants annually, The Hindu reported.
When evidence of question paper leaks emerged this year, students protested at Jantar Mantar, the New Indian Express stated. Jantar Mantar is a 250-year-old monument near Indian parliament. It is designated as India's primary permitted protest site.
Police deployed pellet guns, weapons that fire hundreds of small lead projectiles, against demonstrators. The confrontation left 60 protesters and 118 police officers injured, according to the Human Rights Watch. The New York-based organization released findings documenting “unnecessary force” by the Indian police.
It verified 10 videos showing plainclothes officers beating protesters with sticks. The organization also identified 9 witnesses to the violence and documented internet shutdowns imposed during the demonstrations.
The incident prompted India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign on July 25. Pradhan said he took "moral responsibility" for the exam administration failures, according to reporting from the Times of India.
The crackdown coincides with broader concerns about police conduct in India. According to Human Rights Watch, the country has faced repeated international criticism for its policing practices, particularly during mass protests.
The United Nations human rights office has previously flagged concerns about force used against demonstrators in India.
The Congress party is India's main opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, as noted by Times of India. The Congress party framed the incident as evidence of government intolerance toward dissent, as reported in the New Indian Express.
The Home Ministry has not publicly responded to Rahul Gandhi's questions, according to The Hindu. Police have also not released statements addressing the allegations.
Separately, youth-led "cockroach" movement urged authorities to release all demonstrators detained in weeks of rallies nationwide.
"Any failure to release those detained or withdraw criminal cases would amount to a breach of public trust," the protest group said in a statement, adding they would take "further necessary steps" if their demand was not met.
