'Behind every uniform is a family': Kin of Delhi Police personnel injured during CJP protest seek Parliament's attention

Discuss our trauma in Parliament too, the families of four Delhi Police personnel injured in the July 20 Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led march to Parliament said on Friday (July 31, 2026) while stressing that the discourse so far has largely centred on allegations of police excesses.Seeking to tell “their side” of the violence that broke out during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march, they pressed for a discussion in Parliament on the injuries suffered by policemen on duty and the trauma endured by their families, saying the conversation so far had focused mainly on charges against the force.Addressing a press conference at the Constitution Club of India, the wife of an ACP, the wife of an ASI, and the children of two injured police officers recounted the hours they spent waiting for phone calls from hospitals, seeing bloodied family members return home and, later, watching social media narratives that they felt overlooked the injuries sustained by the police personnel.Recalling the night her husband returned home injured, Upneet Kaur, the wife of an ACP, described the experience as “traumatic” for her and their two-year-old daughter.She claimed that police repeatedly appealed to the crowd to remain peaceful before bottles, stones, slippers and other objects were hurled at them.“Behind every uniform is not only a police officer; there is also a wife, children, parents and an entire family. We want people to understand that,” she said, adding that the families had come together to share what they had gone through after the violence.Behind her, a slideshow displayed photographs of bleeding police personnel alongside figures that, the families claimed, reflected the scale of the violence.The presentation claimed that more than 250 police personnel were injured in the violence, while over 110 barricades, 300 body protectors, 350 helmets, 20 loudhailers, 10 hand-held metal detectors and one X-ray baggage scanner were damaged, with more than 25 government vehicles and private property vandalised.Ms. Seema, whose husband joined Delhi Police as a constable 33 years ago and now serves as an ASI, said that around 11 am on July 20, her husband told her over the phone that the crowd was large, and the protesters were preparing to march towards Parliament.Hours later, she got another call telling her that her husband was being treated at the LNJP Hospital.“When I spoke to him, he told me that some anti-social elements in the crowd attacked policemen with stones, flower pots, slippers and shoes. After that, his phone battery died, and I was terrified,” Ms. Seema said.Her husband returned home around 11 pm with his protective helmet broken, she said.“Had another stone struck his head after the helmet broke, he might not have survived. But for days, only one narrative has been discussed – that police used brutality against students. That is only one side. We want what happened to police personnel and their families also to be discussed in Parliament," she said.Throughout the presser, the families maintained that they were not blaming the students but alleged that anti-social elements infiltrated the gathering and triggered the violence.Ms. Kunjal, a Delhi University student whose father, a sub-inspector, was injured in the clashes, said he had served for 15 years as a marine commando in the Indian Navy before joining the police.“My father was deployed on the front line at the barricades. He told us how anti-social elements tried to create chaos,” Ms. Kunjal said.She alleged that on July 25, her father was pulled by a mob near the stage at the Jantar Mantar, was "almost lynched" and remained unconscious at the RML Hospital for nearly four hours."When my father's colleagues brought him home around 10 pm, his uniform was soaked in blood. It was painful to see him in that condition," she said.Ms. Kunjal also said that she was equally distressed by the reaction on social media.“When I opened social media, my father had already been declared a criminal. Later, I learnt that those accused of attacking police personnel had approached the Supreme Court. I felt I also had to seek justice for my father. We too have equal rights as citizens, and we hope justice will be done,” she said.Another student, Lakshya Singh, the son of an injured ACP, said he was shocked when he first saw his father after he sustained a head injury during the violence.“His head had been shaved, and there were stitches. I was frightened,” he said, adding that his father later told the family that while many had gathered for the protest, some people wanted to create chaos.He said it was "frustrating" to see only one version of the events dominate public discussion.“Whenever I go online, I see videos portraying only the police as criminals. There is no discussion, even in Parliament, about the police personnel who were injured. We only want our side to be heard,” he said.