PUDR strongly condemns the Delhi Police’s abduction and illegal detention of ten activists between 12th and 14th March. The ten activists belong to different organizations, Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) and Mazdoor Adhikar Sangh (MAS). The activists state that they were abducted from different locations in the city by plain clothed personnel from the Special Cell. Among the ten were three women, and the police locked two of them in their office on the 13th night when it conducted a midnight raid and picked up four activists. The police came back for the two women the following morning. In short, the police ‘disappeared’ ten activists and kept them in their custody without contact with the outside world.

It took three habeas corpus petitions filed by families for the activists to be released. Fortunately, the Delhi High Court agreed to hear the petitions on Sunday, 15th March. Because of this timely legal action, the Special Cell released nine of the ten activists on the night of 14th/15th March, hours before the High Court hearing. Because the state lawyer stated before the Court that all had been released, the police released the remaining activist at around 4 pm on 15th March, well after the court hearing at noon.

The shocking actions of the Delhi Police raise some very serious questions about its intentions and method of functioning in this present instance.

• According to lawyers, at least seven of the detainees were badly beaten in custody.
• The lawyers were not shown any official documents even while the police claimed before the court that the interrogation was based on an FIR.
• The lawyers raised the mater that forcible signatures were taken from all the detainees stating that they had joined the investigation based on notices served to them. Based on these forcible signatures, the police hopes to protect itself charges of abduction, illegal detention and torture which the police personnel are guilty of.
• Notably, the police did not bother to show the documentation regarding notices served, if as per its version, the activists had joined the investigation.
• The lawyers also raised the matter of police seizing phones and digital devices from all the detainees.

Contrary to the police version, some of the abductions were carried out in broad daylight in the capital city. While two activists are stated to have been picked up from near a college in Central Delhi, one was tailed all the way from a public meeting at the Press Club and picked up from outside a metro station in North Delhi.

There are other very serious questions of violations of rights that this incident raises:

1. The incident shows a targeted attack on students affiliated with BSCEM, FACAM and activists associated with the well-known labour rights organization, MAS. The abductions, detention, torture and intimidation are police methods aimed at preventing these activists from asserting their constitutionally guaranteed right of joining associations and organizations.
2. The implications of the present incident become serious as the same Special Cell had detained eight members of BSCEM and FACAM in July 2025 for a over a week. The activists claim that the police brutally tortured, humiliated and harassed them. The police threatened them from not revealing what they underwent in custody on the ground that no FIR had been created for the incident. Consequently, information about the July incident was not known to many. In the light of the July incident, the March 2026 detentions serve as an ominous reminder as to how the police can repeatedly detain, torture and harass activists of these two organizations without official warrant or reason.
3. Despite the lawyers seeking CCTV footage of the place from where the activists were abducted and of the Special Cell office, the Court ordered preservation of only CCTV footage from the places where the activists claim to have been abducted. While the court performed its duty by an immediate listing of the petitions that prompted the release of the activists, it is to be noted that barring the directions on CCTV footage, the Court did not subject the police to strict examination. The activists have been granted permission to file affidavits of their version, and the matter is now posted for 27^th In effect, there is an apparent shifting of onus to the activists to prove the brazen attack on them and how their life and liberty was in serious danger. In the case of one of the activists (Rudra) whose petition was listed on Monday (16^th March), torture was alleged and a request for the constitution of a medical board, but the Court did not pass any directions on this aspect and listed this petition along with the others on 27^th March.

Considering this shocking instance of the Special Cell’s impunity, PUDR demands immediate action against guilty policemen who were involved in abducting, illegally detaining and torturing the activists.

Deepika Tandon and Shahana Bhattacharya
Secretaries,
pudr@pudr.org

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