By late evening on Monday, RML Hospital had become the centre of the human aftermath of the CJP’s march to Parliament. Ambulances and individuals continued to bring in injured protesters as doctors and nurses worked through the night treating casualties from the violence that erupted during the march.

Hospital staff and a doctor on night duty said more than 200 people were brought to the emergency block after clashes broke out between protesters and the police. Around 10-12 police personnel were also treated for injuries, according to a senior doctor.

On the hospital’s fifth floor, Bharat waited anxiously outside the Intensive Care Unit, where his 23-year-old sister Sakshi remained on a ventilator. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also visited the family.

“My sister had just finished college and was studying further. She had gone to demand her rights. She is only 21. I trust she will recover,” Bharat said, adding that he was told Sakshi had been administered CPR before being shifted to the ICU.

A friend who had travelled with her from the protest described the panic that unfolded near the LIC building at Rajiv Chowk. She said the group was caught in the chaos after the police charged at protesters, causing people to run in all directions.

“There was such a severe lathi charge that a stampede broke out. Sakshi was crushed in the crowd. I was first searching for my younger sister and only later found out Sakshi had been taken to RML Hospital. She has severe internal injuries and her condition is extremely critical,” she said.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Alfiya, a UPSC aspirant from Prayagraj studying in Delhi, lay on a bed with her leg bandaged. She said the day’s events had changed her career aspirations forever.

“I begged the police not to hit me, but they beat me on my head and legs. Today, my dreams have been shattered. I will never wear a uniform,” she said.

Alfiya, whose father serves in the police force, said she had decided to pursue law instead. “The men in uniform are slaves to the government. They are beating children. I don’t want a job like that anymore,” said Alfiya.

Vishal Pandey (26) from Faridabad, whose leg was in a cast, said he had been at the front of the march when the police repeatedly struck him with batons. He fell after his leg became entangled in a barricade and was beaten again while on the ground.

Kallu, a daily wage worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, said he had travelled to Delhi with friends to protest against unemployment and rising prices. Claiming that his right leg had been fractured, he said the group got separated during the chaos after his phone battery died.

Hospital staff said patients admitted earlier had been shifted to other wards to accommodate the large number of injured protesters, while additional casualties were treated in the Chief Medical Officer’s Hall and other areas of the hospital.

Officials at the police post inside the RML declined to disclose the number of injured protesters or police personnel admitted.

‘Protest a tribute to pupils who died by suicide’

Rajesh Mall, a Kargil War veteran, had hoped to see his daughter build a successful career. But those dreams ended last month when his daughter, Riya Kumari Thapa (23), a NEET aspirant, allegedly died by suicide at their home in Dehradun, leaving behind a note that read, “I love you.”

Mall said he was disappointed that the government had not even expressed regret over the deaths of students. “The biggest tragedy is that the government has not even expressed regret so far,” he said. Mall termed Monday’s protest a tribute to students, including his daughter, who died by suicide.