New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas was today brutally treated by Delhi Police while he was interacting with the media. Picked up, beaten and abandoned, Brittas is now undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohiya Hospital.The MP has tweeted a letter he has written to the president, the vice-president (and Rajya Sabha chairman) and the Chief Justice of India “seeking urgent intervention and fixing accountability for the police personnel, and action on the question of parliamentary privilege.”The full text of the letter is as follows.§Sub: Brutal police assault on me, a sitting Member of the Rajya Sabha, during a peaceful media interaction in Delhi – grave violation of constitutional freedoms and parliamentary dignity – request for urgent intervention and independent investigationRespected Hon’ble President of India,I write to bring to your good self’s urgent attention an appalling incident of police brutality perpetrated against me today in New Delhi. While peacefully interacting with journalists in connection with the ongoing democratic protests demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Gyanesh Kumar, I was forcibly dragged away, bodily lifted by police personnel, brutally assaulted inside a police vehicle and subsequently abandoned on the roadside. The entire episode raises grave questions about the rule of law, the guarantee of democratic dissent and the accountability of those entrusted with enforcing the law.What makes this incident all the more shocking is that this brutality occurred within hours of the Hon’ble Supreme Court issuing explicit directions to safeguard peaceful protesters against illegal detention, ensure uninterrupted internet connectivity and normal Metro and railway services, and protect the free movement of people.Learning that some youth activists were being assaulted and detained, I reached Connaught Place around 12.30 pm today and was interacting with media journalists. I was simply exercising my democratic right to speak to the press. Nevertheless, Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel forcibly manhandled and dragged me for approximately 50 metres, despite repeated assertions by both myself and the journalists present that I am a sitting Member of Parliament. A few police personnel lifted me bodily into the air and carried me towards a police vehicle, treating a sitting Member of Parliament as though I were an object to be hauled away. There was no provocation whatsoever to justify this high-handed action.The brutality escalated after I was put inside the vehicle. The police personnel assaulted me and pinned me to the seat. The assault continued even after I identified myself as a Member of Parliament. My status as an elected representative did not deter them from subjecting me to this degrading and physically abusive treatment. I was then abandoned on the wayside as there was an order from concerned DCP to release me as he found the detention completely unlawful. Following the assault, I continue to experience severe physical pain and discomfort. A young man from Jharkhand witnessed the incident and assisted me; his testimony needs to be secured. The concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police was aware of the assault and that my release followed instructions communicated by the DCP over phone to the personnel in the vehicle. The whole incident, including the role and knowledge of the supervisory officers concerned, needs to be independently investigated.These are specific and verifiable acts of brutality involving identifiable personnel, a police vehicle, a traceable chain of command and eyewitnesses. The relevant recordings made by journalists and bystanders, must be examined in its entirety. I am mentioning hereunder a few of the news report links that document the disturbing incident and bear testimony to the brutal assault inflicted upon me. These are only illustrative; numerous other reports and recordings of the incident are available and need to be urgently identified, collected and preserved to ensure that no evidence is lost and that the perpetrators, as well as those responsible for the chain of command, are held accountable.I was speaking to journalists, not committing an offence. Nothing can justify the use of physical violence against me in the circumstances described. This incident cannot be viewed in isolation from the wider context of the ongoing protests. Yesterday, several opposition leaders, including former Kerala Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and myself, were detained. We were transported around Delhi for hours without adequate clarity about our destination or the purpose of the continued journey. Concerns were also raised about the denial or delay of food and essential medication to the detainees. This larger political context makes today’s episode particularly ominous. The demand for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner is being advanced through democratic mobilisation and political expression. Neither these demands nor the criticism of public institutions can be treated as a licence for the State to resort to intimidation.The Government of the day must understand that criticism of the Election Commission, the demands for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and the peaceful mobilisation in defence of electoral integrity are legitimate matters of democratic debate. Peaceful protest cannot be treated as a threat merely because it challenges those in power. The authorities may agree or disagree with these demands, but they cannot answer them with physical violence. The Government cannot intimidate democracy into silence. It cannot deploy the police as an instrument of political retaliation. It cannot substitute the force of the baton for the force of argument. And it cannot expect the people to surrender their constitutional freedoms merely because those in power find dissent inconvenient.The police atrocities raises serious questions under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution, which protect freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, and Article 21, which safeguards life and personal liberty. Any restraint or detention must have a lawful basis, and the use of force must be justified and proportionate. The brutal assault, the circumstances in which I was taken away, and the manner in which I was released demand urgent scrutiny under these constitutional guarantees and the applicable laws and Rules governing police conduct and detention.The incident also warrants serious consideration from the standpoint of parliamentary privilege and dignity. Article 105 of the Constitution protects parliamentary freedom of speech and the institutional functioning of Parliament within its prescribed scope. I do not claim that membership of Parliament confers immunity from the law. However, physical assault upon a sitting Member, while peacefully engaging with the media on a matter of public importance, warrants serious institutional scrutiny and constitutes a breach of privilege. The police are entrusted with upholding the law; they are not above it. A uniform cannot confer immunity for assault, unlawful detention or abuse of authority.I, therefore, fervently request your good self’s urgent intervention to seek a comprehensive report from the Union Government and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and to ensure that an independent and impartial investigation is initiated. All relevant evidence need to be preserved immediately, including complete and unedited video recordings, vehicle identification and movement records, duty rosters, deployment orders, wireless communications, control-room logs and records concerning my detention and release. The identities of the personnel involved need to be established without delay. The role of the DCP and any other supervisory officer who was informed of the assault need to be examined. Those found responsible, including supervisory officers where complicity or dereliction is established, must face appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings in accordance with law.I am placing this complaint before your good self not merely as an individual who has suffered physical indignity, but as a Member of Parliament deeply concerned about the implications of such conduct for our Republic. If even an elected representative can be beaten after identifying himself as an MP and then abandoned on the roadside for peacefully engaging with the media, what protection can an ordinary citizen expect when confronted by an arbitrary exercise of State power? This is not a demand for special treatment for an MP. It is a demand that the law protect everyone equally and that those who enforce it remain accountable to it. The strength of a democracy lies not in its capacity to suppress dissent, but in its ability to address it.I therefore once again earnestly request your good self’s urgent intervention to ensure that the police assault upon me is impartially investigated, all relevant evidence preserved, responsibility fixed, and appropriate action taken against all those found culpable. I further request that specific directions be issued to put in place effective safeguards against any retaliation against witnesses or others who may provide evidence.Thanking you.Yours faithfully,John Brittas