India's Supreme Court has established a panel to investigate allegations of police violence and attacks on security personnel during recent youth protests. The demonstrations, sparked by exam paper leaks, led to the resignation of the education minister and calls for reform.
The Supreme Court's intervention signals a significant move to address public concerns over alleged police brutality and exam integrity, potentially impacting future protests and the government's handling of educational reforms.
India's Supreme Court established a panel on Thursday to investigate allegations of police violence and attacks on security personnel during recent youth protests. The demonstrations, which began in New Delhi and spread to other cities, were triggered by the leak of question papers for a national medical college entrance exam.
The panel will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge and include two other retired judges and two retired police chiefs. It will address claims that female protesters faced targeted violence, harassment, and molestation, and that demonstrators suffered grievous harm and injury at the hands of security personnel.
The court's order came in response to petitions filed by student protesters and activists who alleged that police and paramilitary forces used excessive force, including pellet guns. Police, however, told the court that force was only used after protesters resorted to violence, and that anti-social elements masquerading as students caused injuries to security forces.
The protests, considered the worst political crisis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, concluded after then-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. The government also agreed to implement exam reforms and provide compensation to families of students who died by suicide following the leaks. The court did not set a deadline for the investigation but asked the panel to submit an interim report as soon as possible.