Left Parties Decry Delhi Police Crackdown as MP John Brittas Is Hospitalised After Being Dragged Away

On Sunday, October 11, 2026, the streets of Delhi witnessed yet another scene that left‑leaning parties say resembles a battlefield rather than a democratic capital. Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, a senior figure of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was apparently seized by uniformed officers while trying to address journalists outside a protest site. The encounter left him bruised and, according to party sources, forced into a police van before being taken to a hospital.

Brit​tas was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where he was visited by CPI(M) general secretary M. A. Baby. The MP, still under treatment, later posted on X, "Even if we are dragged through the streets, beaten with lathis, trampled with boots, or choked to death, we will not step back even an inch." His words echo a resolve that the party says will not be shattered by police intimidation.

Speaking to reporters from a hospital corridor, Baby did not mince words. "The police have turned Delhi into a war zone," he declared, adding that activists from the party’s student wing, the Students’ Federation of India, and the Democratic Youth Federation of India were also hauled into police vans. "They have turned police vans into torture camps. Women are being cruelly attacked and detained for hours inside mobile jails," he alleged, naming SFI president Adarsh M. Saji and DYFI leader Jaick C. Thomas among those allegedly assaulted.

Baby insisted the crackdown would not dampen the protests. He warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that state repression would not kill a movement that aims to oust Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. "The students and the youth are fighting to save our democracy," he said, his tone mixing defiance with a palpable sense of urgency.

The episode has sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with many users echoing the party’s claim that Delhi has morphed into a "mobile‑jail" zone. Critics, however, argue that the police were responding to what they described as “law‑and‑order challenges” amidst a spate of demonstrations across the city.

As of Sunday evening, John Brittas remained under medical care, his condition described as stable but under observation. The left parties have vowed to continue their protests, insisting that the suppression of dissent will only fuel further resistance.