The police action took place on January 30 even as students from All India Students' Association (AISA) were protesting against the death of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula outside the RSS office in Jhandewalan. The police resorted to a violent lathi charge to disperse the students from the place. During the melee that followed, the police did not spare even the women who were part of the protest. The video shows some policemen brutally thrashing two women and throwing them to the ground.

The records show some people in plain clothes assaulting the students. It is not yet clear whether the
plain clothes men were policemen or not. Some of the protesters later alleged that the men in plain clothes were RSS supporters. Some reports suggest that the police resorted to lathi charge after the protesting students broke through the first barricade.

The Delhi Police does not report to the Kejriwal government but to the home ministry and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung.