AAP councillor Nisha Singh and eight other women continue to languish in jail after violent clashes erupted in Fatehpur Jharsa village in Gurgaon on Friday. A demolition drive undertaken by the Haryana Urban Development Authority turned ugly when clashes broke out between police and residents of the area.
Residents allege that land belonging to them was taken away by the authorities without any prior notice or concrete rehabilitation plans. Earlier, DCP (east) Deepak Saharan had stated that the local residents attacked the police forces with bottles and stones, while some indulged in arson. Saharan claimed that women and children were escoreted by police to safety.
Contrary to Saharan`s statement, eye-witnesses claim that even women including AAP councillor Nisha Singh were beaten up mercilessly by the police and they were charged with “attempt to murder” and rioting.
Janta Ka Reporter tried to speak to the officials at Sadar Police Station (jurisdiction of Fatehpur Jharsa village falls under it) but constable Som Parkash told our correspondent that he had no clue about this incident since he had joined after a break and was on temporary duty. He added that we must call them during “working hours” (morning) in order to get proper information as it was too late (in the night) to speak about this issue.
According to reports, mayor Vimal Yadav, along with elected councillors, convened a special meeting on Sunday before passing a resolution, which called for dropping all the criminal charges against her and action against the police personnel involved in the clash.
Nisha`s supporters have stepped up a social media campaign under the hashtag #ReleaseNisha while also collecting signatures for an online petition.
AAP councillor Nisha`s family members urged the authorities to grant her bail as she needed proper medical assistance but Nisha continues to be in jail along with nine other women.
Nisha is a graduate from the London School of Economics and quit her job at Google few years back to join active politics.
