Delhi student protesters allege police visits and intimidation reached their families

For students who joined protests in Delhi, the fear they describe is no longer limited to campus or the protest site. Several have alleged that police personnel later visited or contacted their families, including relatives in Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Bengaluru.

Gurkirat, a former Delhi University student now studying at Panjab University, alleged that personnel had visited her parents’ home in Shivaji Enclave every seven to 10 days for several months, seeking her whereabouts and serving notices connected to old cases. She was arrested on August 6 in a case related to February protests at Delhi University over the UGC Equity Regulations, and was granted bail the same day.

Ilakkiya, 24, who completed a Master’s degree in psychology and is preparing for a PhD in Delhi, alleged that men identifying themselves as Intelligence Bureau and police personnel twice visited her parents in Erode district, Tamil Nadu. She said they called her an “urban Naxalite” and contacted relatives and her sister in Bengaluru.

She was among students picked up in March while preparing for a planned public convention at Ambedkar Bhavan, she alleged. The students were released after habeas corpus proceedings began in the Delhi High Court.