Eardrum damaged after assault: Kerala activist recounts Delhi Police violence

Fidal Royas, a member of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) from Kerala, said the Delhi Police detained him five times between October 2 and October 11. Each day, after being released, Fidal and his comrades returned to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) head office in HKS Surjeet Bhavan, where they were staying, only to return the next day to the protest site.

But on October 11, he was brutally assaulted, leading to a ‘traumatic perforation’ of his eardrum.

A native of Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode district, Fidal was among 30-odd DYFI and Students Federation of India (SFI) activists from Kerala who travelled to Delhi on October 1, with the aim of participating in the protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Speaking to TNM, he recounted the events of October 11. Left student and youth organisations took out a march from Rajiv Chowk Metro Station towards Janpath that afternoon.

That day, the demonstration was declared suddenly. We went to Rajiv Chowk between 12 noon and 12.30 pm to take part in it.”