NHRC orders probe into alleged involvement of minors in Mumbai protest
India’s National Human Rights Commission has asked Mumbai Police to investigate allegations that minors were involved in a Cockroach Janta Party protest and that their images were circulated online. It also directed X Corp. to preserve related digital evidence and asked MeitY to examine compliance issues.
The National Human Rights Commission has directed Mumbai Police to investigate allegations that minors were involved in a Cockroach Janta Party-led protest in Mumbai and that images of them were circulated online. The commission took cognisance of the matter on Saturday after receiving complaints from Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation and another organisation. The complaints referred to posts on X that allegedly showed a young child being held above a crowd carrying the National Flag and a placard.
The complainants alleged that people associated with the Cockroach Janta Party had involved minors in the October 2 protest. They asked that the roles of organisers, accompanying adults and others who may have facilitated the children’s participation be examined. The complaints also referred to purported group chats in which the participation of minors was allegedly discussed.
Some participants were said to have suggested that minors could not be detained by police. The NHRC said the material indicated that people described as minors had taken part in those discussions and allegedly agreed to participate. A Bench headed by NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo directed Mumbai Police to examine how the children came to be involved in the gathering.
Police were also told to investigate the roles of organisers, coordinators, accompanying adults and others who may have facilitated their participation. The commission said the allegations raised concerns about children’s dignity, safety, privacy and possible exploitation. It named Ajinkya Shinde, Abhijit Dipke and Saurav Das among those whose roles and communications should be examined, while stressing that responsibility must be determined through evidence.
The NHRC directed X Corp. to preserve account details, URLs, post IDs, timestamps, metadata and information on moderation or enforcement action. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was asked to examine the platform’s compliance with child-safety and information-preservation obligations.
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