A day after two representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) held talks with Union Minister J.P. Nadda, party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday alleged that the meeting was used by the government as a "trap".
Dipke claimed that CJP spokespersons Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Shanka were effectively placed under house arrest at Nadda's residence while police carried out a "lathi charge" on protesters.
"J.P. Nadda invited our panel for discussions and assured us that they would find a solution through dialogue. But after calling us for talks, they were carrying out a lathi charge here. So, they were trapping us," Dipke said.
"They even house-arrested Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Shanka at J.P. Nadda's house. They took away their phones. We were unable to contact them for three hours," the CJP leader told reporters.
Hundreds of CJP supporters staged a demonstration in the national capital on Monday, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. Police used tear gas and lathi charges to disperse the protesters, leaving several demonstrators and security personnel injured.
As the protests escalated, the CJP delegation held two rounds of talks with Nadda at his residence, but the government did not give any assurance or commitment on the party's demands.
The CJP has reportedly put forward three demands: the immediate release of activist Sonam Wangchuk, the resignation of Pradhan, and Rs 1 crore in compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.
Dipke accused the Centre of resorting to a "brutal lathi charge" against student protesters to shield Pradhan.
"What is happening in our country? If you wanted to stop the march, you could have used water cannons, but you used tear gas and a brutal lathi charge. What was the need to crack the children's heads? These children are the future of this country," he said.
The CJP leader also levelled serious allegations against the Delhi Police, claiming that security personnel targeted young girls during the crackdown.
"Yesterday, the whole country saw how brutally the Delhi Police cracked the heads of even 12-year-old girls. The police beat the girls, tore their clothes and stepped on their chests. And all this was done by male police officers," he said.
