New Delhi: Students who participated in the July 20 march to Parliament over alleged NEET examination irregularities on Wednesday levelled fresh allegations of religious profiling and police brutality while addressing the media alongside Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Farhanaaz, a graduation student from Uttar Pradesh, alleged that Delhi Police singled her out because of her Muslim name during the protest. She claimed that despite the demonstration being peaceful and students raising slogans such as “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” she was assaulted and branded a “traitor.”
“They judged me because of my name. They called us traitors,” Farhanaaz alleged, adding that similar accusations were later amplified on social media. She maintained that the protesters would continue to stand up for the country, ending her remarks with, “Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.”
Another protester, Muskan Sharma, alleged that she too faced Islamophobic abuse after people assumed she was Muslim. She also accused police of using excessive force during the demonstration, claiming that a male Rapid Action Force (RAF) officer attempted to jab a baton into her buttocks.
“My surname is Sharma. Everyone thinks I am Muslim and that is why I am getting more abuse. That does not tell anything about me, but it tells a lot about the narrative being set in this country,” she said, questioning how criticism of the government could be equated with being anti-national.
Addressing the media, Rahul Gandhi defended the students, saying they had committed no crime by protesting against alleged irregularities in the examination system. He accused the authorities of responding with violence instead of addressing the students’ concerns.
“They weren’t doing violence. They were not being aggressive. Yet they were beaten, assaulted and threatened,” Gandhi said, describing the country’s education system as “flawed” and arguing that demanding reforms was “not a crime.”
He also criticised what he called attempts to intimidate protesters, referring to allegations that demonstrators were pressured into apologising after the march.
Several other students also shared their experiences. Riya Ahir, who drew national attention after stopping a Mumbai Police van carrying detained protesters, alleged that she had faced sustained online harassment and intimidation since the incident despite filing a complaint.
Nutan Toppo, from Jharkhand, alleged that police fired a pellet gun in her direction during the crackdown, while Bharat Banait, a student from Nagpur, described the police action as “a black day” and accused officers of torturing protesters.
Holding Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the alleged police action, Rahul Gandhi said the Home Minister should answer for what happened. He argued that if Shah was unaware of the alleged violence, it reflected a failure of responsibility.
The Delhi Police has not publicly responded to the specific allegations made by the students at the press conference.