According to the affidavit, 2,873 people who attended the protest had particulars that matched existing crime records in official police databases.

It said 92 of the people present at the site were involved in more than 10 criminal cases, of whom 47 were “history-sheeters”.

“The right to protest peacefully is a fundamental right of every citizen, including young students/young individuals. This right is sacrosanct and must be preserved at any cost. The difficulty arises when an initial peaceful protest turns violent, resulting in bodily harm either to the other citizen as well as the police personnel along with destruction of public property,” the affidavit said.

“Anti-social elements merging with the crowd, with criminal background infiltrating such protests either to give bad name to the protestors or to the police, is always a matter of concern and worry, not only in India but everywhere,” it added.

Police said if the violence did not stop or appeared to be spreading rapidly, a graded response was adopted, beginning with minimal use of force, with decisions taken according to the situation on the ground, the affidavit said.

“More than 240 police officers have suffered injuries; the investigation will take into consideration the grievances of the protestors as well as the grievances of those police officers who were deployed on duty and have suffered injuries.

“Both will have to be and should be investigated impartially. The facts narrated herein are the facts as appear and available as on date which would need an investigation,” it said.

The affidavit said the permission granted for the protest had lapsed on July 20 itself, but the protesters did not vacate the venue or disperse after holding the dharna.

“The agitation thereafter witnessed the participation of a large number of students, political workers, political leaders, activists and others addressing the gatherings on different dates, thereby repeatedly appealing for continuation and expansion of the agitation, permission of which had already lapsed,” it said.

“It is a matter of fact that during the course of events as they unfolded on July 20, the protest did not remain peaceful and instead pervasive lawlessness had crept in,” it said.