JAIPUR: The President of the Rajasthan University Students' Union, Nirmal Chaudhary, and Sangaria MLA Abhimanyu Poonia were detained by the police on Saturday while appearing for a philosophy examination at the university.
According to eyewitnesses, plainclothes officers had been stationed across the campus since morning and took both leaders into custody as soon as the exam began.
The detention caused a huge stir on campus, with some students raising slogans and creating a commotion. The situation calmed down after the police left with Chaudhary.
However, DCP East Tejaswini Gautam clarified that Abhimanyu Poonia was not detained. “He voluntarily entered the police vehicle to support Nirmal Chaudhary,” she said.
Gautam stated that Chaudhary had been wanted in connection with a 2022 scuffle involving then CI Gandhinagar Nemichand and ACP Mukesh Chaudhary, which left Nemichand with a fractured hand and Mukesh Chaudhary with a head injury.
A case was registered against several student leaders, and after a thorough investigation, Chaudhary was taken into custody. "The police did not detain MLA Abhimanyu Poonia. He joined Nirmal in the car voluntarily and later went to his residence from the Gandhinagar police station,” added DCP Gautam.
MLA Abhimanyu Poonia, however, asserted, “Nirmal Chaudhary and I were taken from the exam hall as if we were criminals. I have been released, but Nirmal is still in police custody. The behaviour of the plainclothes officers was akin to hooliganism."
Nirmal, a former student union president, had recently staged a protest at SMS Hospital demanding an inquiry into the death by suicide of Jodhpur doctor Rakesh Vishnoi. There too, he had a heated argument with police officials.
Poonia added, “This kind of police action against a student is absolutely wrong. Arresting Nirmal over an old case while he was appearing for an exam created chaos in the examination hall and violated democratic norms.”
The Congress party has strongly condemned the police action. MLA Abhimanyu Poonia, Mukesh Bhakar, Ram Niwas Gavadia, former MLA Indraj Gurjar, and Anil Chopra met Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph on Saturday afternoon and termed the arrest as unlawful.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “Detaining Youth Congress state president and MLA Abhimanyu Poonia and Nirmal Chaudhary during an examination is unjust and a breach of democracy. The BJP government refused to listen to the family of Dr. Rakesh Vishnoi, and when these public representatives spoke out for justice, a case was registered against them. Public representatives have every right to raise their voice for the public interest. The state government should release them immediately.”
Similarly, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot added, “If the police, administration, and government act out of a sense of revenge, we will oppose it strongly. The government aims to send a message that it will target those who raise their voice, which is unacceptable. Suppressing dissent through state machinery is completely wrong.”