Amnesty International Accuses Indian Police of Using Excessive Force Against Protesters

A report by Amnesty International on Monday stated that Indian police used excessive force, including electric batons and air guns, to disperse protests led by young people that resulted in the education minister’s resignation last month.

The rights group’s report contradicts the police narrative, which claims that force was used only after protesters turned to violence. It comes after India’s Supreme Court formed a committee on Thursday to investigate the violence committed by both police and protesters.

The protests erupted in the capital, New Delhi, in protest against the leak of entrance exam questions for medical colleges. Violence broke out on July 20, when thousands of protesters attempted to march toward the Parliament building.

The organization confirmed that verified testimonies and video evidence showed the use of “air guns firing metal pellets, tear gas launchers, hand grenades, lathis (batons), and electric batons against protesters” in Delhi and the eastern state of Bihar.

It added that it verified two cases in which a police officer “used lethal force illegally against a crowd” in Siwan district of Bihar, without resulting in any deaths.

The organization noted “isolated incidents in which protesters threw stones,” but considered that the heavy-handed response amounted to state violence used as punishment under the guise of crowd control.

Delhi Police had stated during a Supreme Court hearing last week that it had used force only after “protesters turned to violence.”

The protests, led by the online-active “Cricketers’ Party,” have expanded beyond anger over exam cheating into a broader movement addressing unemployment, youth opportunities, and what critics describe as the increasingly authoritarian rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

These demonstrations represent the biggest challenge to Modi since his re-election for a third term in 2024.