The Delhi Police reports to the Union home ministry, and the Rapid Action Force – a branch of the Central Reserve Police Force – unleashed on the students in the nation capital on Monday also comes under Union home minister Amit Shah’s ministry. Consequently, the accountability for the vicious police action on protesting peaceful students on Monday, July 20 lies squarely with Shah.Despite mounting evidence of brutality and widespread demands for executive accountability, he remains conspicuously silent. Because the chain of command ends at his desk, the answers to the troubling questions raised by this crackdown will have to be provided by Shah. They cannot come from the social media handles of the Delhi Police or unnamed “sources” cited by some reporters. The buck stops at Shah and he owes the answers to the students, and the country at large.1. Why were water cannons not used?Standard crowd control protocols in India dictate a graded response, utilising the least harmful deterrents first. Water cannons are the primary non-lethal method which are supposed to be used to disperse crowds before escalating to physical force. Bypassing this crucial step suggests an immediate escalation to violence rather than an attempt to peacefully manage the assembly. Shah must explain why this standard operating procedure was abandoned on Monday.2. Why were lathis with nails used?Reports and visual evidence from the ground show that some batons wielded by security personnel were embedded with nails. Modifying a standard riot-control tool in this manner intentionally transforms it into a lethal weapon capable of causing severe lacerations. Deploying such barbaric implements against unarmed students, including young women, violates basic human rights and established police guidelines. The home minister must explain who authorised the modification of these batons and their usage against the students.3. Who ordered the firing of pellet guns?Pellet guns are meant to be a weapon of absolute last resort, as they are notorious for causing permanent vision loss, physical injuries and severe trauma. Multiple medical reports and testimonies from injured protesters confirm the extraction of metallic pellets, contradicting denials by the Delhi Police. The government is aware that this weapon was used as Union health minister JP Nadda has met one of the victims in hospital. The deployment of this controversial weapon by the RAF, which comes under Shah, in the national capital marks an alarming escalation in the state’s use of force against the students. The public deserves to know exactly which who sanctioned their use against the youth and what Shah has done about it since.Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with a victim of alleged pellet gun firing during a students protest march, Sahil. Photo: INC Handout4. Why was disproportionate force used, with male cops hitting young women?Numerous videos from the protest site show male police officers assaulting female students, directly violating protocols that require only female police personnel to handle female protesters. The sheer brutality of the baton charges, directed at their heads, and tearing of their clothes, is entirely disproportionate to the threat posed by the peacefully marching students. Even where police claim the crowd turned aggressive, the response still has to remain proportionate and gender sensitive. The video evidence cited in reports makes this a matter for immediate accountability. This reflects a blatant disregard for established police conduct, including by senior police officers present on the scene, making them complicit in the violence against young women. Shah must explain why, under his control, the police force feels so emboldened to violate all laws.5. Why were some men in civil dress with batons hitting students along with the police?Eyewitness accounts and video footage reveal unidentified individuals in plainclothes actively participating in the violent crackdown against students alongside uniformed personnel. The presence of these vigilantes raises serious concerns about state-sponsored thuggery and the outsourcing of law enforcement to private actors under the Modi government. If these individuals were plainclothes police, their failure to identify themselves while assaulting citizens is entirely illegal. The minister must reveal the identities and official affiliations of these attackers, and action taken against them and their senior officers.6. Why were most police officers not wearing name tabs?Police manuals and court orders strictly mandate that all personnel in uniform must prominently display their name tags to ensure accountability during law enforcement operations. Obscuring or removing identification is a known tactic used to evade responsibility for excessive use of force and human rights abuses. This deliberate anonymity suggests a premeditated intent to commit violence without the fear of legal consequences. The minister must answer if this fundamental rule of policing was done under orders or is part of an unofficial SOP instituted under his watch.7. What action has been taken against the senior police officer seen hitting a woman?Viral footage showing a high-ranking officer, identified as Sandeep Lamba, physically striking a female protester has sparked widespread outrage. Such blatant violation of law by a senior official sets a dangerous precedent for the entire police force. The issue is not only the individual act but whether the institution has initiated suspension, inquiry or disciplinary action. Immediate suspension and a thorough investigation are the standard administrative responses to such documented misconduct, but no such action has taken place so far. Reports suggest he has simply been removed from duty at the protest site. Shah’s continued silence on this specific incident brings into question the Modi government’s willingness to holding its errant officers accountable.8. How many tear gas shells were fired that day and at which location?The indiscriminate deployment of tear gas in densely populated areas like Jantar Mantar and Parliament Street on Monday posed severe health risks to protesters and bystanders alike. A transparent account of the exact volume of chemical irritants used is necessary to assess whether the force applied was proportional to the situation. Establishing the exact locations of these deployments will clarify whether the police were defensively holding a line or aggressively targeting fleeing students. It also helps determine whether the crowd was contained or pushed into more dangerous conditions. A full inventory report of the munitions deployed must be made public by Shah immediately.An RAF jawan fires tear gas shells near Shasti Bhawan Metro on July 20. Photo: PTI9. Electric current at police barricades? Any police action must meet the test of proportionality and reasonableness. The Indian Express reported with visuals from the Jantar Mantar protest on serious questions about allegations that electric current may have been present in police barricades. If these reports are ultimately independently verified, the issue goes beyond crowd control and raises important constitutional and legal questions.10. How many persons have been detained and under what charges?Following the crackdown, hundreds of students were reportedly rounded up and taken to various detention centres across the city by Delhi Police. Families and legal representatives have struggled to get accurate information regarding the whereabouts and legal status of these youths. The police must release a comprehensive list of all detainees, the specific sections under which they have been charged, and their current locations. Arbitrary detentions without transparent charges are a violation of fundamental rights, and strengthen the allegation that the police operation was punitive rather than preventive. Shah needs to answer if this illegal procedure has been approved by him or is the police totally out of his control.11. Has a departmental or magisterial enquiry been ordered into the events?Given the massive scale of reported injuries, including fractured skulls and pellet wounds, an independent, time-bound investigation is legally and morally imperative. A routine internal police probe is insufficient, as the force cannot be expected to objectively investigate its own excesses. A magisterial or judicial enquiry is necessary to uncover the chain of command that led to Monday’s bloodshed. Senior legal bodies have already called the force “unprovoked and disproportionate” and sought a judicial inquiry, which makes official silence more glaring. Shah’s failure to announce an independent probe indicates a troubling reluctance to address administrative failures.12. Why has no statement come from the home ministry so far?Despite the unprecedented violence in the heart of the national capital and persistent demands from the opposition, the Union home minister has maintained complete silence. The Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force function directly under the jurisdiction of the home ministry, making Shah ultimately responsible for the law and order machinery. This silence in the face of grave allegations of police brutality is widely perceived as a tacit endorsement of the crackdown. A crisis of this magnitude demands immediate executive accountability and a public explanation from the highest levels of government.If the Modi government believes the police and RAF acted lawfully and proportionately, it should say so, release the facts, and order an inquiry. Until then, these grave questions remain unanswered and the responsibility remains at the Union home minister’s door.