Kiran Bedi suggests using civil defence volunteers as first line of defence in students' protests

New Delhi: Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi suggested deploying civil defence volunteers (CDVs) to handle student protests, amid the allegations of brutality by the security personnel during the recent Parliament march of students under the CJP banner.

In her X post on Thursday, Bedi, former Lt Governor of Puducherry, said CDVs can be the first line of defence, exactly like the BSF is on the borders.

In a self-made video posted on X, she said CDVs wearing protective gear but without any canes should face the student protesters, and the riot police should ensure their safety and prevent any violence or damage to public property.


Dozens of police and paramilitary personnel and protesters were injured during the Parliament march called by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) last Monday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET paper leak.

Bedi, a celebrated former police officer who also served in Delhi, suggested that every state has CDVs or home guards and their personnel can be upskilled to tackle situations arising from student protests.

"The safest way to avert a confrontation between the students and police is to have a trained civil defence as the first line of defence and riot police as it is now," she said.

The riot police must act only if the civil defence line is being overrun or under threat, she said.

"The civil defence personnel can be with cane shields to protect themselves from bricks and also have body armour and helmets. No sticks. This will place the onus on the student demonstrators to not provoke the coming in of riot police," Bedi stated.

She said the armed police action is meant for saving life and property and it requires justification, and added that deployment of civil defence volunteers will prevent allegations and counter-allegations.