NEW DELHI: With reports of protesters across the country being detained and arrested, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Monday accused the Centre of “breaching” its assurances on protecting them from police action after the July 25 agreement that led to the withdrawal of its agitation. CJP representatives warned that they would be “forced” to resume protests if govt failed to withdraw the cases and provide a written agreement by Tuesday, as promised.Addressing a news conference at senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s residence, CJP spokespersons Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ratna Singh alleged that despite an in-principle agreement that no fresh FIRs would be registered against protesters and existing cases would be withdrawn, police action was continuing in several states.“We are observing a complete breach of the agreement regarding no police action against the protesters,” Ranka said, adding that the organisation had submitted a written draft of the understanding and was awaiting the govt’s written commitment. “If we don’t get this agreement by tomorrow, and if protesters are not released across the country, CJP will be forced to protest again,” he said. The warning comes two days after CJP called off its protest after govt accepted its demands.
‘Protesters being surveilled despite govt assurances’
We withdrew the protest at Jantar Mantar and the national call in good faith. But we were doubtful that once the momentum of the agitation came down, govt might target people individually. This is a very credible apprehension because the same playbook has been used in previous protests,” Das said.Singh alleged that reports of police action were emerging from across the country. “In Assam, there are 7-8 FIRs. In Kolkata, there are 11 FIRs, of which 10 are against Muslims. Bihar has the highest number of cases. In Siwan, Patna and Chapra, FIRs have been registered naming 144 people and 5,000 unnamed persons. Eighty-six people have been arrested and more arrests are expected,” she said.According to Bihar police, 694 people have been detained across the state following Bihar bandh on July 25. After verification, 339 minors and students were released, while 355 people involved in violence were produced in court.In Lucknow, 10 people have been arrested and an FIR registered against unidentified people for attempted murder. Two more FIRs have also been registered in connection with the protests in the city.Singh alleged that police had invoked serious criminal charges against protesters. “We have received reports that police used AK-47s against protesters and are filing attempt to murder cases, which are non-bailable,” she said.CJP also said protesters in Delhi were being surveilled using facial recognition technology despite assurances from Union ministers. Echoing the charge, Sibal said, “It has come to my knowledge that Delhi Police is going to target people who joined the protest using facial recognition technology and will try to harass their families. It is possible they may try to give it a communal angle while targeting people.”
