Police assaulting Jantar Mantar protesters ‘distressing’, says Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Friday expressed concern over reports of police personnel assaulting students and other demonstrators during protests at Jantar Mantar, describing such incidents as “distressing” and a matter of “grave concern”.

Speaking at the launch of former security secretary Yashovardhan Azad’s book Policing the Republic in New Delhi, Justice Bhuyan said the sight of young Indian Police Service officers personally confronting and assaulting protesters was particularly troubling.

“All of us are dismayed when we see young officers of the Indian Police Service personally going and assaulting protesters and demonstrators,” he said.

Justice Bhuyan also raised concerns over what he described as the apparent erosion of the detachment expected from police officers while dealing with protests.

“The detachment expected of police officers somehow seems to be disappearing, and this is indeed a matter of grave concern,” he said.

Congress MP P Chidambaram, former Maharashtra director general of police D Sivanandhan and several others attended the book launch event held at Viceroy Hall in the national capital.

The judge’s remarks come amid renewed scrutiny of police conduct during demonstrations and the manner in which authorities handle protesters in public spaces.