In a court hearing held on Wednesday, January 31, five of the six individuals detained in connection with the Parliament security breach claimed to have been subjected to abuse by Delhi police to tolerate their affiliation with opposition parties.
Five defendants testified in court are: Manoranjan D., Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, Amol Shinde, and Mahesh Kumawat. They said they were coerced into signing over seventy blank documents.
To sign and admit to committing a crime under the UAPA and their affiliation with national political parties, accused individuals were subjected to torture or electric shocks. According to PTI, the accused informed the court in a combined plea that they were coerced into writing on the document about their affiliation with the opposition political organization and their leadership role in it.
Defendents allege Delhi police
The court was told by the five defendants that they were made to sign about seventy blank documents. They testified before the court that the accused had been subjected to torture or electric shock to sign and confess to crimes committed in violation of the UAPA and their affiliation with national political organizations.
Besides, the court is hearing an application from the police regarding a case involving five accused persons, including Neelam Azad, who alleged that police forced her to sign blank papers. The accused persons were allegedly pressed into revealing their political party or leader during polygraph/narco/brain mapping tests. They were also asked about their mobile phone numbers and required to visit Airtel/BSNL/Vodafone offices for SIM card issuance. The accused persons claimed they were forced to provide all their social media accounts, email, and phone passwords during the illegal drill. Azad’s application is currently pending.
Police tortured accused to admit their links to Oppn parties
The accused stated that they were made to provide the passwords to all of their social media accounts, email addresses, and phone numbers. On December 13, 2018, during Zero Hour, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D broke through security measures by jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery. They shouted slogans and released yellow gas from canisters before being overpowered by some MPs. This was a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
Moreover, Neelam Azad, the sixth accused in the case, had already told the court that she was coerced by the police into signing many blank documents. The court is still debating Azad’s application. The individuals administering the polygraph, narco, and brain mapping tests asked the two accused individuals to identify a political party or leader about their involvement, either before or after the tests were conducted.
All six are in judicial prison until March 1st
Extra Meetings All of the accused, including Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi Azad, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat, were present in the courtroom, according to Judge Hardeep Kaur, who oversaw the proceedings.
Manoranjan, Sharma, Shinde, Jha, and Kumawat, five of the six people, said in court that they feel Delhi Police is torturing them to make them confess to being associated with opposition groups. They said they were made to sign about seventy blank documents and pushed to acknowledge their affiliation with national political parties.
However, the combined petition further disclosed that the subjects were coerced into naming a political party or leader during brain mapping, narco, and polygraph examinations. During the purportedly unlawful processes, they were also forced to provide passwords to their phone, email, and social media accounts. Regarding this motion, the court has also asked Delhi Police to respond. Their judicial custody was extended by the judge for an additional thirty days.
Also, the Delhi Police has been granted a production warrant for six accused individuals, including Neelam Azad, who allegedly was forced to sign blank papers by police. The court has previously allowed the application for the warrant but denied bail to Azad on January 18. The police have also requested permission to conduct brain mapping and narco tests on Manoranjan and Sagar, as well as a polygraph test for the remaining six accused. Special public prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh objected to the allegation, but the court recorded submissions from both sides. The police are now awaiting further information to strengthen the case and gather evidence.
