Two students hailing from Kerala have alleged that they were assaulted by policemen and locals near the Red Fort, “coerced” to speak in Hindi, and ridiculed for wearing lungi (coloured mundu, a common attire in the State).
Aswanth I.T. and Sudhin K., both studying at the Zakir Husain Delhi College, were reportedly accosted by a group of miscreants on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), accusing the duo of theft.
Mr. Sudhin, 18, told The Hindu that when the locals accused them of theft, his friend approached a police constable at the spot to ask for help.
“Instead of helping us, he slapped both of us multiple times and made us sit on our knees in front of all the people. He took my friend’s phone and gave it to the locals. My friend’s phone was an iPhone and he tried to take back the phone and run, but he was beaten a lot and dragged to a police booth,” said Mr. Sudhin, hailing from Kasargod in north Kerala.
Mr. Sudhin was put in a police car and taken to the police booth next to the Red Fort. At the booth, they were “tortured” and told to accept the theft charge, and settle the case by paying ₹20,000, he said.
“Another police officer, an ASI [assistant sub-inspector], started hitting us. He removed our lungi and started hitting us and kicking us on our face and private parts with his boots. We have been in Delhi for a month and did not know Hindi very well.” He said that when his friend struggled to speak, the ASI kicked him saying “talk in Hindi”, Mr. Sudhin said. “It is still difficult for him to eat food even now.” He said the police officers at the booth also made fun of them for wearing lungi.
After their seniors reached the booth later, they were let go by the police. “We took some painkillers and slept that day. The next day (Thursday), we went to the hospital and took all the tests and today (Friday), we went to the DCP north’s office and filed a complaint. We know the names of two of the police officers and can identify the rest,” he said.
Responding to the allegation of theft, Mr. Sudhin said, “This was our first time at the Red Fort area. We have never been there before.”
Expressing shock at the “custodial brutality”, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas in a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha urged him to conduct an “impartial high-level investigation”.
Hawkers’ complaint
However, DCP (north) Raja Banthia told The Hindu that a few hawkers had brought the two students to the police post to settle a payment issue. “Some hawkers them to the post after allegedly thrashing them in the market. Hawkers complained that these two persons had come five to six days ago. They purchased clothes and paid ₹4,000 in cash and showed them an online payment of ₹10,000, which was not actually made. When they visited the market again on September 24, the hawkers identified them, got into a quarrel and manhandled them,” said the DCP.
He added that the hawkers had given a complaint at the police post. However, the matter was settled and both parties left the booth. “There was no PCR call or complaint or any representation to supervisory officers regarding this incident by these two students. As far as the allegations of beating by police personnel areis concerned, nothing has been substantiated till now. But we are enquiring into the matter,” Mr. Banthia said.
In his letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner, Mr. Brittas said that instead of extending protection to these students, the policemen “colluded with the mob”. “The students were dragged, beaten with fibre lathis, stomped upon, stripped, and humiliated in the most degrading manner,” he said. Their mobile phones were seized, their personal dignity was violated, and they were coerced into false confessions, the Rajya Sabha MP said.
When the students, who aren’t fluent in Hindi, tried to explain in English they were abused, they were “coerced to speak in Hindi”. “Even more outrageous,” Mr. Brittas said, was that “one of the students was targeted and ridiculed for wearing his traditional Kerala attire, the mundu. A simple cultural expression was converted into grounds for criminalisation”.
“Such conduct demonstrates a disturbing mix of cultural prejudice and unconstitutional coercion,” he added. He urged the Delhi Police Commissioner to conduct an impartial high-level investigation into the incident, ensuring that officers and others responsible for the “barbaric assault” are identified and brought to justice.
Published – September 27, 2025 03:18 am IST
