‘Students were beaten like animals’: Abhijeet Dipke’s mother

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Anita Dipke, mother of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, has expressed concern over the lathi-charge on protesting students in New Delhi, saying it was extremely painful to watch them being beaten.

She appealed to the government to listen to the agitating students and release those detained at the earliest.

Delhi police lobbed tear gas shells and wielded sticks on Parliament Street on Monday as thousands of CJP protesters marched towards Parliament to push for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak.

The CJP has accused security personnel of using excessive force against protesters during its “Sansad Chalo” march, alleging that several students were injured.

“I wish the government would listen to the agitating students and release them as soon as possible. I am worried after seeing the students beaten brutally. Watching all this has left me emotional.

“It is extremely painful to see students being beaten like animals,” Anita Dipke told Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Wednesday.

She said the students were beaten despite doing nothing and that she feared what might happen to them.

Visits by several leaders, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and activist Manoj Jarange, had offered some reassurance to the protesters, she said.

Anita Dipke also accused the government of dragging its feet over the students’ demands.

“The government is simply buying time. It won elections with the support of people, but is now not listening to them. Students are demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, and the government should listen to them,” she said.

She said the government was responsible for the escalation of the protest.

“The first mistake was made by the government when it used lathis on the students who had been protesting peacefully for a month. Had it heard their demands earlier, the situation would not have worsened,” she said.