The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Uttar Pradesh police chief to identify policemen and those of the Provincial Armed Constabulary seen in CCTV footage “damaging motorcyles and unnecessarily caning the apprehended students” of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
The case pertains to the protests at the AMU against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
“The police force should be sensitised and special training modules prepared to inculcate professionalism in the personnel while handling such situations,” the court observed.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Samit Gopal passed the order on the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. The court last month directed the NHRC to conduct an investigation into the allegations of police brutality at the AMU. The order was passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by Aman Khan.
On Monday, the court asked the Director-General of the CRPF to identify Rapid Action Force men who were allegedly involved in incidents of violence and excesses. “The RAF, a specialised force set up to deal with riots and handle law and order situations, should show utmost professionalism in such crisis situations, while respecting the human rights of civilians.”
The court directed the Chief Secretary to provide compensation to six students, commensurate with their injuries, on humanitarian grounds.
It also directed the Director-General of Police to make sure that the Special Investigation Team probed the case on merit and in a time-bound manner.
Another recommendation made by the NHRC was to direct the AMU Vice-Chancellor and its Registrar to establish a line of communication with students so that they were not “influenced by outsiders and rusticated unruly students”.
All the officials were asked to submit a report of compliance at the next hearing scheduled for March 25.
