Blood on Capital streets as doctors, students unite in CJP protests

A nursing student carrying a first-aid pouch. A delivery rider who joined the march straight after his shift. A labourer who took a train across state lines to be there. By the end of July 20, the day New Delhi turned a battleground over the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protests against the Narendra Modi-led government, all three found themselves among the injured — not the helpers they had set out to be.

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At least 60 participants were hurt on Monday, according to Delhi Police, as protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar for a march to Parliament called by the CJP, part of the ongoing agitation over exam irregularities and demands for the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

Sources said 186 injured people were brought to the city’s RML Hospital’s emergency ward by 8 am Tuesday (July 21), 89 of them policemen. Ninety-six required surgical treatment such as stitches or plaster casts.

Nagma Parveen, a 19-year-old nursing student from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, had come prepared to treat others but ended up with a fractured foot after being pushed into barricades. Rakesh Kumar, 22, a delivery rider from Ghaziabad, also in UP, joined the march to support students preparing for NEET, including his younger brother. He said he was beaten during a lathicharge while helping an elderly protester who had stumbled, sustaining a deep puncture wound near his collarbone that he alleges came from a nail-studded stick.

Talha, 28, travelled from Patna, a city located more than 1,000 kilometres away from the Capital in Bihar, and said police fractured his right leg during the protest. He added that his mother, who had already been anxious after the removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the site and the commotion that followed, was calling him repeatedly since seeing videos of the clashes. “Don't policemen also have families?” he asked.

Protester receives seven pellet injuries to face

The most severe case was that of Sheikh Irfad Mansoori, 25, from Gurugram in adjoining Haryana, who was allegedly hit by pellets fired by RPF personnel at Connaught Place, sustaining seven pellet injuries to his face, including in both his eyes, and underwent surgery at Lady Hardinge Hospital. His family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly unaware of the seriousness of his injuries. Delhi Police has denied that its personnel used pellet guns, though it remains unclear whether RPF did.

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Twenty-one-year-old Sakshi, injured in a stampede-like crush near Jantar Mantar and Tolstoy Marg, was taken off ventilator support by Wednesday (July 22) and was reported conscious and responsive, with normal brain and spine scans. A 20-year-old Delhi University student and CJP volunteer suffered a hairline hand fracture and bruises, saying the assault felt more traumatic because it was carried out by male officers.

Doctors volunteer to treat injured

Amid the ongoing protest, volunteer doctors have set up makeshift medical points beside ambulances, treating a steady stream of people for swollen limbs, cuts, fever and dehydration.

Among them are, besides healthcare professionals from Delhi and neighbouring states who have been running makeshift medical-help points, members of the 5 Rivers Heart Association, an NGO linked to US-based doctor Swaiman Singh. It had also assisted during the 2021 farmers' protest. One of its volunteers, Amritpal Singh, said around 50 doctors — cardiologists, dermatologists, orthopaedists and general surgeons — along with nursing staff and pharmacists, are serving on rotation at the site.

Singh said the team decided to reach Jantar Mantar along with an ambulance after seeing videos and accounts of injuries during Monday's clashes.

'As doctors, we understand what students are fighting for'

“The NEET examination is the baseline for every doctor in this country. The quality of medical education affects every citizen because every patient eventually places their life in a doctor's hands. As doctors ourselves, we understand what these students are fighting for and why this matters,” he said.

Many protesters, Singh added, are reluctant to go to hospitals, either because they don't know Delhi well or don't want to leave the protest site, so the medical teams offer immediate care and advise on further treatment where needed. One anonymous doctor said she arrived after watching videos of Monday's clashes, bringing medicines, ORS and emergency supplies, and that fever cases have risen as people spend long hours out in the monsoon rain.

Protesters say the doctors' presence has given them confidence to stay put. Harshit, from UP, said the sight of doctors moving through the crowd offers a sense of security, though he noted their numbers dropped after some doctors were themselves injured during Monday's march. For others, like 21-year-old Shiv, whose father died of medical negligence when he was eight, the protest carries deeply personal stakes tied to the broader fight for accountability in medical education.

Also read: NEET protests: Delhi lit the spark, and small towns, cities are keeping it burning

“I know what it means when healthcare fails someone. A strong education system matters because it produces the people we trust with our lives,” he said.

A doctor volunteering at the site said supporting the protesters was also about safeguarding public trust in medical education.

“As doctors, we understand that the quality and credibility of medical education have consequences far beyond the classroom. Every patient places their trust in a doctor. If students are demanding accountability in the system that trains and selects future doctors, that is a concern that deserves attention,” the medical practitioner added.

(With agency inputs)