The three lawyers mentioned in the sting operation are Vikram Singh Chauhan, Yashpal Singh and Om Sharma

An exclusive India Today operation today unearthed shocking details on the assault on JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and journalists, while Kumar was being produced in the Patiala House court on February 15.

In a sting operation recorded by our cameras, lawyers in Delhi's Patiala House court have owned up to the brazen assault. In the video below, they admit gleefully that Kanhaiya was beaten up even when he was in police custody. None of these lawyers have been arrested.

The three lawyers mentioned in the sting operation are Vikram Singh Chauhan, Yashpal Singh and Om Sharma. The three led the attack on journalists and Kanhaiya supporters at the Patiala House court on February 15. The video indicates that the attack inside the court premises was not a spontaneous one, but a well-planned conspiracy to teach 'anti-national' elements a lesson.



To uncover the truth about the Patiala House conspiracy, India Today's special investigation team first went to meet Vikram Singh Chauhan, the 38-year-old Patiala House lawyer from Rewari in Haryana. Chauhan has emerged as the face of the attack on journalists and JNU students. Far from being afraid about getting locked up in prison for leading the brutal attack, he seems to be enjoying his new found infamy in this conversation.



Vikram Chauhan, Lawyer: We beat up that boy for 3 hours... 3 hours

India Today: You?

Chauhan: Him

IT: Whom? The reporters or Kanhaiya?

Chauhan: Kanhaiya. We forced him to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

IT: Did he say it?

Chauhan: He said it. I would have not let him go from there.

IT: Did he say - 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai?'

Chauhan: Yes, he said 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.' We made him say it. We bashed him for three hours. He wet his pants. We beat him up so much.

IT: Will you repeat what you did when he is produced in court?

Yashpal Singh, Lawyer: We will not leave him. We'll beat him up. I will get a petrol bomb. No matter what cases are filed against me. I will not leave him even if I'm charged with murder.

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No, not one, we'll do it on everyone. I have not been presented yet. Sharma has returned after his bail. I will go to jail. If you read, there are lot of things. In my interview, I had said that I will go to jail if I'm arrested. I want to go to the same jail and visit Kanhaiya's cell, and beat him up there itself.

IT: In the cell?

Singh: Yes, I will go to his cell and beat him up. Most probably, I will not give my bail bond. I will go to prison for 1-2 days.

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We beat up journalists. We thrashed JNU professors.. everyone. If you live in the country, you will have to talk about the country. That's all we know. Then Kanhaiya came. To tell you the truth about Kanhaiya, the police was supporting us fully.

IT: Police was supporting you?

Singh: Yes

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Serious questions have been asked about why the security personnel on duty inside the Patiala House court did not step in and stop the violence. The cops have denied charges of them turning a blind eye towards the violence and have insisted that they did what was expected of them. In this conversation, Chauhan describes how the cops stood around without bothering to stop the violence.

Chauhan: "See, if there is India, then there will always be support. Some of the personnel were standing, including some from the CRPF. They said - 'Sir good sir'. I said - 'Come'. They said - 'Sir, we are in uniform... but good, good.'

The sting operation also revealed that it wasn't just the lawyers from the Patiala House court who were involved in the attack on Kanhaiya and his supporters. Chauhan disclosed to India Today that many of the attackers were specially brought in from outside with the specific intent of beating up the so called anti-nationals.



Chauhan: There are not many lawyers in Patiala House court. There are only 100-500 lawyers. Half of them deal with challans.

IT: Yes, they deal with challans.

Chauhan: We were to throw a bomb. There were so many boys from outside. From Dwarka, Rohini. Many were called in. I wrote on Facebook and asked them to come.

The sting operation also revealed plans of further attacks on Kanhaiya's hearings.

IT: This Khalid also...

Chauhan: Now, we have to do something else. Something big.

IT: Tell me.

Chauhan: No, we've thought. Things will happen by doing.

IT: But it has to be done in a planned way?

Chauhan: Khudiram Bose was 17, Bhagat Singh was not even 23... What we did was good. Our lawyers said the same thing in the end. The boy went alone and did it single handedly.



Kanhaiya Kumar and other JNU students have been booked for sedition. Vikram Chauhan and the other attackers have been booked under mild provisions of the Indian Penal Code such affray, which means fighting in a public place and disturbing peace. The charges against the lawyers are easily bailable.



After meeting Vikram, our next port of call was the Shalimar Garden residence of Om Sharma in Ghaziabad. Sharma is a resident of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and has been practising at the Patiala House court for 17 years. Sharma is one of the main protagonists in the attack at the Patiala House attack on February 15. At the time we visited, another lawyer Yashpal Singh happened to be at Sharma's house. Yashpal practises at the Tees Hazari courts and has been additional secretary of the Bar Council. Both Om Sharma and Yashpal Singh confirmed everything that Vikram had told India Today's special investigation team.

From their admission on camera, it is very clear that Vikram Chauhan, Om Sharma and Yashal Singh not only planned the Patiala House attack in great detail but also that they are completely unrepentant about what their actions.

The India Today's special investigation team included Rahul Kanwal, K Ashish and Harish Sharma.

