New Delhi, July 31: Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on Friday responded to a question regarding the plight of families of Delhi Police personnel injured during the July 20 student march from Jantar Mantar to Parliament with a remark, “Are you from the BJP?”

Many families of Delhi Police personnel who sustained injuries during the clashes with protesting students on July 20 held a press conference earlier in the day, recounting their ordeal and personal hardships they underwent during the troubling hours.

They also demanded answers from those politicising the violence in favour of the protesting groups and sought justice for their family.

When a scribe questioned Rahul Gandhi on the Parliament premises, seeking his response to the press conference where the cops’ families shared their complaints and travails, the LoP snapped at him, asking, “Bhaiya, are you from the BJP?”

Rahul Gandhi’s response, seen as insensitive and indifferent to Delhi police personnel, comes after the families shared personal accounts of their sufferings, in the wake of violence inflicted on the injured personnel and questioned why their agony was being overlooked at the cost of protesters, many of whom have a ‘criminal past’.

According to reports, more than 200 police personnel were injured, some of them grievously, when the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march helmed by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) turned violent, leading to stone-pelting and violence against the police by the protesting groups, which, as reports, were infiltrated by miscreants and those with criminal antecedents.

As the families of Delhi Police personnel injured in violent clashes during the July 20 students’ stir demanded justice in the press conference, the issue also snowballed into a political controversy with Congress and BJP firing salvos at each other.

A noted Opposition leader accused the government of hatching a plot to pit cops against the students to deflect attention from the brutality inflicted on them, while BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the former’s sensitivity regarding police and their families.

Speaking to the media, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The attack on police personnel and the injuries they sustained is a matter where we should show sensitivity. They also have families, they also have children, and they also have human rights.”

“We respect the youth, but if criminals are involved behind such protests and are involved in attacking police personnel, then it raises serious questions,” he stated.

New Delhi, July 31: Passengers travelling by train can now book and pay for excess luggage online while reserving their tickets, as Indian Railways on Friday rolled out a new digital facility aimed at making the travel process more convenient.

The service integrates excess luggage booking with the online ticket reservation system, eliminating the need for passengers to visit parcel offices separately before boarding.

Previously, travellers carrying baggage beyond the free allowance had to complete a separate booking process at railway parcel counters, often leading to additional paperwork and long queues.

The online excess luggage booking facility is available only to passengers holding confirmed tickets and is restricted to travel classes where carrying luggage beyond the free allowance is permitted upon payment of the prescribed charges.

Passengers travelling in AC First Class, AC 2-Tier, First Class, Sleeper Class and Second Class can avail of the service.

However, those travelling in AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car will not be eligible, as the maximum permissible baggage limit in these classes is the same as the free luggage allowance.

Under the existing baggage rules, AC First Class passengers are entitled to carry up to 70 kg free of charge and can carry a maximum of 150 kg after paying excess luggage charges.

Passengers in AC 2-Tier and First Class are allowed 50 kg free, with a maximum permissible limit of 100 kg.

Sleeper Class passengers can carry 40 kg free and up to 80 kg in total, while Second Class passengers have a free allowance of 35 kg and a maximum limit of 70 kg.

In contrast, AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car passengers can carry up to 40 kg, which also serves as the maximum permissible limit.

Indian Railways has clarified that passengers carrying baggage beyond the free allowance but within the prescribed maximum limits will be required to pay applicable excess luggage charges.

Apart from weight restrictions, the Railways also enforces size limits for luggage carried inside passenger coaches.

Trunks, suitcases and boxes measuring up to 100 cm × 60 cm × 25 cm are generally permitted inside compartments.

However, passengers travelling in AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car coaches must adhere to a smaller size limit of 55 cm × 45 cm × 22.5 cm.

New Delhi, July 30: A 21-year-old woman who was injured during the police action at the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest has shown satisfactory clinical recovery and was discharged from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital on Thursday.

The hospital said the decision to discharge her was taken after taking her stable condition and overall recovery into consideration.

The woman, who had participated in the protest, was brought to RML Hospital in an unconscious state after suffering asphyxia during a stampede-like situation that occurred amid the Parliament march.

Her condition had initially required intensive care and ventilatory support for several days. However, she gradually improved and regained full consciousness and independent mobility nearly ten days after being admitted to the hospital.

In its latest medical update issued on Thursday, RML Hospital said the patient had made a “satisfactory recovery following comprehensive critical care management” after undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.

“On admission, she was resuscitated in the Emergency Department and shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she was managed on ventilatory support. Following sustained clinical improvement, she was successfully weaned off ventilatory support and, after one week in the ICU, was shifted to the Nursing Home ward for further recovery and rehabilitation,” the hospital said.

The hospital further stated that Thursday marked the 10th day of the woman’s hospitalisation and that she had reached a stable condition and was “fully conscious, alert, coherent, and hemodynamically stable” and had resumed a normal oral diet.

RML Hospital also said that she was ambulatory without assistance and had regained the ability to independently perform her regular daily activities, indicating significant improvement from the condition in which she was initially admitted.

“In view of her satisfactory clinical recovery and stable condition, she is being discharged today with appropriate medical advice and follow-up instructions,” the hospital added.

The woman was among the protesters who participated in the July 20 demonstration at Jantar Mantar, which was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) under the banner of ‘Sansad Chalo’.

The protest was held to demand accountability from the government over the NEET paper leaks and other examination-related irregularities, along with action to address concerns raised by students.

The demonstration later turned violent when some miscreants resorted to stone-pelting, following which security personnel used mild force to disperse the demonstrators. The clashes during the protest resulted in several protesters and police personnel sustaining serious injuries.