Family members of Delhi Police personnel injured during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led violent protests at Jantar Mantar held a press conference on Friday and shared harrowing accounts of the violence their relatives faced while on duty, particularly during the Parliament march on July 20 and subsequent clashes, including on July 25. They alleged that anti-social elements had infiltrated what began as a student agitation over examination irregularities, leading to stone-pelting, assaults with flower pots, slippers, shoes and other objects, and attempts at mob lynching of officers.
The families said that a one-sided narrative focusing on alleged police excesses had overshadowed the injuries suffered by over 100 security personnel, many of whom are still under treatment, and demanded that justice be delivered equally to the police side as well. Some of them have already approached the Supreme Court to present their version.
Speaking at the press conference held at Constitution Club, Kunjal, a Delhi University student and daughter of a Delhi Police Sub-Inspector, said her father had earlier served as a Marine Commando in the Indian Navy for 15 years before joining the force. He was deployed on the frontline near the barricades at the main protest site. “Whenever my father came home at night, he used to say that the protest no longer seemed like a student protest. Many antisocial elements had become involved in it,” she recounted.
#WATCH | Delhi | Daughter of a Delhi Police SI (Sub-Inspector) who sustained injuries during the clash between Police and protesters in Delhi, says, "…Before joining the police, my father served as a Marine Commando in the Indian Navy. He dedicated 15 years of his life to the… pic.twitter.com/aevnbcdNyQ
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2026
On July 25, around 2 pm, she said, he was pulled by a rowdy mob and almost lynched near the stage at Jantar Mantar. He remained unconscious at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for about four hours. Colleagues brought him home around 10 pm with his uniform completely stained with blood and stitches on his head. “It was extremely painful for us to see him in that condition. When I opened social media, I saw that my father was being called a criminal. The very next day, I came to know that the people who had attacked my father were approaching the Supreme Court… I felt very hurt and decided that I should also seek justice for my father,” Kunjal said, adding that other police families supported them and they moved the apex court. Medical records cited in related petitions identify the officer as SI Sandeep Kumar, who sustained multiple lacerated wounds across his head requiring suturing.
She further added, “We requested an advocate to present our case before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The advocate assured us that we, too, have equal rights as citizens of this country and that we would also get justice.”
Seema, wife of an Assistant Sub-Inspector who has served in the Delhi Police for 33 years after joining as a constable, described the events of July 20. Her husband left for duty at Jantar Mantar early that morning. When she spoke to him around 11 am, he mentioned a huge crowd marching towards Parliament. By evening, around 7 pm, she learnt he had been admitted to LNJP Hospital. “He told me the crowd had turned aggressive and that some mischievous elements had joined the protest. They attacked police personnel with flower pots, stones, slippers and shoes. He also said they broke the barricades put up for Parliament’s security. His helmet was completely broken. If a piece of stone had hit his head after the helmet broke, then perhaps he would not have been alive today,” she said, expressing the fear that gripped the family that night.
Upneet Kaur, wife of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, spoke of the trauma on the night of July 20 when her husband returned home injured late at night. “The moment he returned home late on the night of July 20, injured as he was, was incredibly painful and traumatic for both my two-year-old daughter and me. I am accompanied here by other family members of Delhi Police personnel, and we wish to share our ordeal with you,” she said. Related accounts have named officers such as ACP Kailash Bisht, who sustained a severe scalp laceration, among those injured in the stone-pelting.
Lakshya Singh Mishra, son of an injured officer, said his father was posted on the frontline to maintain law and order. He learnt later that his father was undergoing treatment, with his head shaved because of the stitches. “Whenever I go online, I only see one narrative. Nobody is talking about the other side. There is no discussion about the violence faced by police officials near Parliament either,” he said, urging that those responsible for attacking the police be held accountable. He recalled that his grandfather had served in the Border Security Force and fought in the 1971 war, and that his father had received multiple awards for bravery during his career.
The families screened videos showing attacks on police personnel and stressed that while genuine students should not be painted with the same brush, miscreants who resorted to violence must face consequences. They noted that several officers, including senior ranks such as Special Commissioner of Police Anil Shukla, ACPs and inspectors, along with personnel like ASI Hamender Rathi and others, were among those hurt across the days of protest. The relatives asserted that police personnel also have families and equal rights as citizens, and called for their side of the story to be heard in the public discourse and in ongoing legal proceedings related to the agitation.
The development comes amid the Delhi Government announcing that it will drop all cases against CJP protesters as per the agreement between the central govt and the CJP. Only the cases against known criminals are not being dropped. But with the families of injured cops approaching the Supreme Court, the court may open cases against protesters who attacked police and indulged in violence.
