Activist Yogendra Yadav has alleged that he was beaten up at a police station after being arrested at a farmer protest at Jantar Mantar during the wee hours of Tuesday.
Mr. Yadav took to Twitter to make the allegations as he also posted his picture in a torn shirt.
I have been beaten up, manhandled, dragged, pushed and arrested at the parliament street police station. >pic.twitter.com/kbJgT9rSuh
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) >August 10, 2015
He claimed a total of 96 protesters were “arrested” from a “peaceful satyagraha”. Police, however, said no arrests have been made and that 85 protesters have been held in “preventive detention”.
All of us, 96 in all, are now being arrested. But what's the crime, I wonder.
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) >August 10, 2015Vijay Singh, DCP (New Delhi), said the allegations of Mr. Yadav being beaten up were false. “These are rumours being spread by them. We picked up their leader (Mr.Yadav) and the others followed. No force was used,” said the DCP.
News channels showed Mr. Yadav being forcibly removed by some policemen while he was speaking to the media this morning. The protesters continued to be detained till late Tuesday morning.
The protesters had obtained permission for demonstrating at Jantar Mantar for two days, i.e., Sunday and Monday. Police said that late on Monday night Mr. Yadav and his supporters put forward a letter saying they wanted to continue the protests till August 14.
“That demand was unacceptable since Independence Day is nearby. We removed the protesters after we learnt that they would try marching to the PM House,” said the DCP.
Mr. Yadav’s former colleague and Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal showed solidarity with the protesters through a tweet.
I strongly condemn the treatment metted out to Yogendraji by Delhi police. They were protesting peacefully. It is their fundamental right.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) >August 11, 2015Mr. Yadav has been leading a farmers’ protest against the government's proposal to change the way farm land is acquired for infrastructure projects.
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