Jaipur Police arrests student leader from Rajasthan University; Cong slams government

NEW DELHI: Police arrested Nirmal Chaudhary, a former president of the Rajasthan University Student Union, in connection with a 2022 case of unlawful assembly while he was taking an exam on the campus on Saturday. "After the report of the investigating officer, Nirmal Chaudhary was detained today and he is being arrested in the case," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Tejaswani Gautam said.

Sangaria MLA and Youth Congress state president Abhimanyu Poonia was also present with Chaudhary when he was taken into custody. Chaudhary was taken to Gandhi Nagar police station and Poonia accompanied him. However, police said that Poonia was not detained. Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot slammed the police action, saying taking Poonia and Nirmal Chaudhary "under detention" while they were taking an exam was unjustified and against democracy.

Jully calls police action ‘dictatorship'

Leader of opposition Tikaram Jully and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot hit out at the BJP government in Rajasthan, accusing it of trying to silence opposition voices. "This is a dictatorship," Jully alleged. Pilot claimed that the BJP government was targeting Congress and Congress-supported leaders. "If the police and administration act out of a sense of revenge to target opposition party leaders, we will strongly oppose it," he told reporters. He said that the BJP government was trying to send a message that any dissenting voice will be silenced through action.

Abhimanyu Poonia said that the police personnel came in civil dress and took him and Nirmal Chaudhary forcibly from the exam centre. However, the police said that Poonia himself accompanied Nirmal Chaudhary and willingly went to the police station in the police jeep. The police said that no action against the MLA was taken. The development came days after the two youth leaders held a protest demanding action against a senior doctor of Jodhpur's SN Medical College after a resident doctor, Rakesh Chaudhary, allegedly committed suicide.

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Gehlot backs protest over doctor's role in suicide

Gehlot said that the BJP government did not listen to the family members of Rakesh Chaudhary and these leaders held a dharna in their support. Rakesh Chaudhary allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison. He was rushed from Jodhpur to SMS hospital in Jaipur where he died last Sunday night. Nirmal Chaudhary, Abhimanyu Poonia and others along with the family members held a protest outside the mortuary of the SMS hospital demanding action against a senior doctor at SN Medical College, alleging that he had been harassing Rakesh Chaudhary.

The 2022 case was registered with Gandhi Nagar police. DCP Gautam said that besides being charged with unlawful assembly and roadblock, Nirmal Chaudhary was also accused of misbehaving with the then Station House Officer of Gandhi Nagar police station. Nirmal Chaudhary was elected as the president of Rajasthan University Students Union as an independent candidate in 2022.