New Delhi: Amid stories of alleged police brutality and mass detentions emerging from the national capital in the past two days of the CJP-led protest against the CEC, there are some heartwarming tales of camaraderie and basic empathy.
One such anecdote relates to economist Jean Drèze, which has been covered by Article 14.
The Delhi Police detained Drèze along with three activists near Jantar Mantar on Saturday, October 10. They were allegedly taken about 16 km away to the Adarsh Nagar police station in North West Delhi.
Once there, the 67-year-old economist happened to meet other detainees, mostly men from Assam and West Bengal. Many of them told him that they weren’t even a part of the protest or knew about it. While one of them was going to the hospital, another had stepped out for breakfast. “Others were just going about their lives,” shared Article 14.
One for all, all for one
Hours after they were detained, Drèze, Paran Amitava, Anjali S, and Aban Raza, who were with him, were let off. However, the acclaimed economist refused to do so.
Speaking to Article 14, Drèze said, “We told the police that either all the detainees are released together, or we continue to stay here.” They even wrote an application, demanding the same.
After about 11 hours of detention, authorities released all the detainees around 8 pm.
Appreciative of the economist’s gesture, one of the detainees said, “It’s very important that all people of this country speak up for one another.” Meanwhile, the police did not comment.
Some of the detainees alleged they were picked up based on their faith.
As for Drèze, he said, “I have been in this country nearly 50 years but haven’t witnessed this level of force being deployed to oppress a protest.”
A video of his detention went viral when a journalist asked Drèze, a well-known economist, his identity.
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