The Supreme Court of India has formed a committee to launch an investigation into police brutality and other allegations surrounding the Generation Z group "Cockroach People's Party" (CJP) protests that led to the education minister's resignation last month.

The Supreme Court announced on the 20th local time that it has formed a five-member independent committee to investigate the police's violent suppression of the protests, harassment and sexual misconduct against female demonstrators, and attacks by protesters on police.

The committee will be chaired by former Supreme Court Justice R. Subhash Reddy and includes two former high court judges and two former senior police officials.

The committee will investigate allegations that police used excessive physical force, such as firing air guns and tear gas at protesters, causing "severe harm and injury," as well as suspicions of privacy violations through the surveillance of demonstrators.

The Supreme Court also stated that an "intensive and swift investigation" is necessary regarding allegations that female protesters faced violence, harassment, and sexual misconduct.

In addition, violence inflicted by protesters against the police will also be included in the scope of the investigation.

The Supreme Court took this measure as a flood of petitions poured in protesting the police's violent crackdown on the CJP demonstrations.

In particular, various complaints were filed against law enforcement agencies in the capital region of Delhi and the northeastern state of Bihar.

In response, Indian police authorities stated in a submission to the court earlier this week that they used physical force only when protesters initiated violence.

They also claimed that anti-social elements disguised as students severely injured law enforcement personnel during the protests.

While the Supreme Court did not set a deadline for the completion of the investigation, it asked the committee to submit an interim report as soon as possible.

Previously in June, the CJP launched massive demonstrations to protest question paper leaks and mismanagement issues in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), a nationwide medical entrance examination.

As the protests, which lasted for nearly two months, spread from New Delhi to across the country, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down in late last month, bringing an end to the protest crisis as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government accommodated the demonstrators' demands.

The CJP was founded in May to satirize remarks made by Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant, who compared unemployed youth to cockroaches, and has amassed more than 23 million followers on Instagram alone.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)