Lathi charge. Protestors being hit mercilessly. Plain-clothed police officers unleashing brute force. Nails embedded into lathis. Police officers without name tags.

Your social media feed is probably full of videos like these. They're also full of people taking sides. Some defending the police. Others condemning them.

Let’s begin with one thing that should not be up for debate.

The Delhi Police, its Special Cell and the Rapid Action Force violated well-established rules governing the use of force during protests.  Those rules come from the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, earlier the CrPC, and from binding Supreme Court judgments.

Some of what you see in these videos is not just excessive. It appears plainly illegal.

In this episode, I’ll explain what the law says, how it was ignored, and why thousands of young protesters ended up facing lathis and tear gas.

But this isn’t just a story about police violence. It is also a story of political and intelligence failure.

Let Me Explain.

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Produced by Akshay Lal, Megha Mukundan, script by Dhanya Rajendran, Camera by Ajay R, Edit by Nikhil Sekhar ET.