LUCKNOW: Allahabad High Court on Monday issued directives to UP Director General of Police (DGP) to identify and take action against the officers who were involved in stray incidents of damaging motorcycles and unnecessarily caning the apprehended students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during their protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December, last year.
The court also directed the state government to adequately compensate six students who had sustained grievous injuries in police action.
The two-judge High Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Samit Gopal, issued the directives on the basis of the recommendations made by a six-member team of National Human Rights Commission which has probed the violence on AMU campus on December 15, 2019.
The NHRC team conducted the probe into the violence on AMU campus and subsequent police action following the directives of Allahabad High Court in this regard.
The High Court had given five weeks' time to the NHRC team to complete the probe in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Mohammad Aman Khan alleging police brutality on AMU students during anti-CAA stir in Aligarh.
The petitioner had alleged that the AMU students were holding a peaceful protest against CAA since December 13, 2019.
But the district police and para-military forces indulged in cane charging, firing of tear gas shells and rubber pellets at the protesting students for no valid reason on December 15, 2019.
As per the sources, the NHRC probe panel recommended action against the cops and relief to injured students in its report submitted to the High Court.
The NHRC probe panel also recommended to sensitize the police force saying special training modules for them to inculcate professionalism in the cops while handling such situations.
It also urged the court to direct UP DGP to get all the probes into such incidents of violence in a time-bound manner by the Special Investigating Team set up by his order date January 6, 2020.
Besides, the probe panel also recommended refurbishing the local intelligence system besides taking effective steps to stop rumour-mongering and spreading false and distorted information on social media.
Importantly, the NHRC panel also urged the court to direct AMU V-C, registrar and other authorities concerned to establish a better channel of communication with the students so that they were not misguided by outsiders and rusticated unruly elements.
However, the High Court directed the UP government, UP DGP, DG (CRPF), AMU V-C and Registrar to adhere to the recommendations of the NHRC probe panel at the earliest.
It also asked the authorities to produce a compliance report to the court on next date of hearing on March 25, 2020.