A viral video showed a Mumbai cop threatening a group of students with a false drug case if they turn up at the protests again over the NEET paper leak. The video was shared widely on social media, even by the X account of Cockroach Janta Party. Now lyricist Varun Grover has reacted to the same, noting the ‘shocking aspect’ of the cop threatening innocent kids.
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He added, “This gap between authority and disdain for it is the centre of this protest. A unique, new era of dissent in India.”
A senior government official told HT that after taking a serious note of the video, the state government has ordered a probe against Pawan Sangle, posted as a driver. He has also been suspended from his position until the probe against him is completed.
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In the video posted by Varun, a policeman is seen threatening a group of students inside the van. He says he will put 50 grams of ‘powder’ in their pockets and arrest them in a drugs possession case, ruining their lives forever. “If you are seen again here, I will ruin your lives,” the policeman tells the students in the video. The student protesters, who were seated in the rear seat of the vehicle, were seen giggling.
However, he was not aware that one of the students was recording the entire conversation on his mobile camera. Varun Grover noted, “Two things to note in this video apart from the SHOCKING aspect of Mumbai cops threatening to plant drugs on innocent kids. 1. The cluelessness of the boomer cop about being recorded. 2. The chill DGAF attitude of the boy.”
Several students and citizens had gathered in Mumbai on Wednesday to show solidarity for the ongoing CJP protests in Delhi. Actor Ayesha Khan was even detained by the Mumbai police on Wednesday, and she documented the entire incident to detail how she was pushed inside the police van when she had not even uttered a word about the protest. Imran Khan, Alaya F and Jim Sarbh were some other stars who attended the protests in Mumbai.
The CJP-led protests have been ongoing for over two weeks amid allegations of irregularities in the education sector, particularly the alleged leaks of NEET exams. Social activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the protest earlier this month, starting a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar. The protestors met representatives of the central government on Tuesday, but the protests continue. On Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi sat in protest outside the PM’s residence with several Congress leaders, but was soon detained by the police.
While the protest site had remained largely peaceful on Wednesday, tensions escalated on the Sansad Marg stretch, with clashes breaking out between protesters and police. While security personnel used tear gas shells for protesters who had spilled on to Sansad Marg, the protesters pelted stones at police personnel and chased them on the main radial road of Connaught Place. According to the Delhi Police, at least five cops – 2 ACPs, one inspector, one head constable and one constable, were injured in the fresh tensions.
