Mumbai Police has finally explained the situation of a viral video from a solidarity protest in Dadar area, with footage of a police officer restraining a woman in the footage of the demonstration receiving political criticism.
The incident took place during Wednesday's protest organised by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement in support of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. The video soon went viral on social media and Congress MP Varsha Eknath Gaikwad and NCP leader Rohit Pawar also demanded action against the police officer involved.
Mumbai Police said on Thursday the incident was an accidental misunderstanding and not a deliberate attempt to detain the woman.
According to the police, the officer was trying to secure a male protester during the demonstration and the woman unintentionally moved between the officer and the man. Frame-by-frame analysis of the video showed that the woman became involved in the incident unintentionally, the police said.
The clarification came after the video raised questions over the police’s behaviour during the protest. Some opposition leaders had believed the woman had been improperly handled by the officer, the video had been published in opposition, and some said.
Mumbai Police has not announced any inquiry into the incident so far. The force’s clarification is based on its review of the video footage and the sequence of events captured during the protest,” said the police official.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of growing protests over alleged NEET-UG examination irregularities. The CJP-led movement has drawn students and activists demanding more accountability in the examination system.
Protesters have demanded that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign and take immediate action against those involved in examination fraud. They have also asked for special courts to investigate and trial genuine paper leaks and examination fraud in the areas of examination.
The Mumbai demonstration was not formally permitted, police said, and authorities detained dozens of demonstrators during the rally.
The recent episode illustrates the problem for police and demonstrators in noisy protests and how to hold people down or slow them down when there is a fast-moving scene.
The viral video was initially worrying because it appeared to show a female protester being targeted by a police officer. Mumbai Police’s version, however, was that the officer’s action was directed at a male protester and that the woman entered the intervention unintentionally.
But the episode also has fed into a larger controversy about how protests related to the NEET-UG controversy have been handled. Opposition leaders and student groups have continued to push for government accountability, while law enforcement agencies have defended their efforts to keep the peace during demonstrations.
As the CJP movement grows beyond Delhi, similar protests will continue to be closely monitored in other cities. The Mumbai example also showed how short videos from demonstrations can trigger political reactions before the full sequence of events is established.
