Pinarayi Reports Physical Discomfort in Custody; Delhi Police Accused of Denying Food and Water

New Delhi: Delhi Police continued their crackdown on the protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. CPI(M) leaders M A Baby, Pinarayi Vijayan, Brinda Karat, M V Govindan, Viju Krishnan, A A Rahim and P Rajeeve were among those arrested. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were also taken into custody.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan reportedly experienced physical discomfort while in police custody. After detaining him, police drove him around Delhi for three and a half hours without providing food or water. Even after taking him to the Mantar Marg police station, they reportedly refused to provide him with food.

There were also complaints that A A Rahim and students detained alongside him were brutally assaulted by police. Rahim and the students are reportedly on a hunger strike while in police custody at Maharaja Surajmal Stadium.

Earlier, police detained and removed CPI(M) leaders, including General Secretary M A Baby, M V Govindan, K K Shailaja, P K Sreemathy, MP Sivadasan and P Rajeev, soon after they left Kerala House for Jantar Mantar.

The leaders were taken away in a prison-like vehicle in which they could not even stand upright. P K Sreemathy and M A Baby were dragged by police during their detention. Sreemathy fell to the ground during a scuffle and was pulled up and put into a police vehicle.