Amnesty accuses Indian police of excessive force against youth protesters

Indian police allegedly employed excessive force, including electric shock devices and pellet guns, against youth-led protests that ultimately led the education minister to resign last month, Amnesty International reported. The rights group's findings contradict the police's version of events, which claims force was only used after protesters turned violent. This comes after India's Supreme Court established a panel on Thursday to investigate incidents of violence by both police and demonstrators.

On July 20, demonstrations in the capital, New Delhi, erupted following the leak of the national medical entrance test. Thousands of protesters attempted to march towards parliament, triggering violent clashes. Amnesty said witness testimony and visual evidence have confirmed the use of "pellet-firing shotguns, tear gas launchers, grenades, batons, and electric shock devices" against protesters in Delhi and the eastern state of Bihar.

The group also verified two instances of police officers "unlawfully using lethal force against a crowd" in Bihar's Siwan district. No one was killed during the clashes.

Amnesty stated that the deployment of these weapons violated international law and standards and domestic policing guidelines. They argued that the "heavy-handed response was state-sanctioned violence masquerading as crowd control." While there were "isolated incidents of protesters throwing stones," Amnesty emphasized that the police's response was disproportionate.

Delhi Police, in a Supreme Court hearing last week, claimed they only resorted to force after protesters "resorted to violence," alleging that anti-social elements masquerading as aggrieved students caused "grievous injuries" to security forces.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in outside a Delhi police station on Friday, alongside a 19-year-old protester who claimed he was injured by pellets during the July 20 demonstration. Gandhi called for a police investigation into the shooting, and officers subsequently registered a case over the complaint. The protests, initially sparked by exam irregularities, evolved into a broader movement addressing unemployment, opportunities for young people, and critics' accusations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's growing authoritarianism. This marked the most significant challenge Modi faced since winning a third term in 2024.