Delhi: A rights organisation, the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), on March 18 criticised the Delhi Police over the alleged abduction of 10 individuals, including labour rights activists, anti-displacement campaigners and students, claiming their whereabouts were initially unknown.
According to the group, the incidents began on March 12 when a Delhi University student, Ilakkiya, and labour activist Shiv Kumar were reportedly taken away by unidentified persons in plain clothes from Dayal Singh College. Witnesses in the area said a woman in civilian attire forced Ilakkiya into a Scorpio vehicle with VIP lights near the Jawaharlal Nehru Metro station, where Kumar had already been placed.
CASR stated that both individuals became unreachable soon after, with Ilakkiya’s phone switched off within half an hour, and alleged that the detention was carried out without due legal process.
The organisation said that on March 13, another activist, Manjeet, linked to a labour union in Haryana, went missing after attending a programme demanding the release of lawyer Surendra Gadling in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, Siasat Daily reported.
Later that evening, several others associated with student and activist groups were reportedly detained from the office of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, including members of BSCEM and FACAM. Those picked up were Akshay, Rudra, Kiran, Gaurav and Drishti from BSCEM, as well as Ehtemam and Badal from the Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation (FACAM).
CASR further alleged that many of those detained had previously been arrested and only recently released. It claimed that testimonies from the detainees pointed to severe custodial abuse, including physical assault, sexual violence, coercion and humiliation.
The group alleged that Shiv Kumar was subjected to extreme physical and sexual torture, including beatings, suspension in an inverted position and forced statements under threat. It also claimed that Rudra, a student activist, faced physical abuse, repeated stripping and sexual violence, along with threats of being killed in a staged encounter.
According to CASR, Manjeet was beaten, subjected to caste-based humiliation and forced into degrading acts, including being made to clean rooms while naked. The group also alleged that other detainees, including Akshay and Avinash, were assaulted, with injuries deliberately targeted and individuals subjected to humiliation and coercion.
Describing the incidents as part of a broader pattern, CASR characterised the alleged actions as a systematic campaign targeting activists and said they violated constitutional protections, domestic laws and international obligations, including provisions under the UN Convention Against Torture.
The organisation called for an immediate halt to what it described as illegal detentions and custodial abuse, and demanded an independent judicial inquiry. It also sought accountability for the police personnel involved and the return of seized belongings.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court issued notices to the Delhi Police in response to habeas corpus petitions concerning the alleged illegal detention and torture. While the police maintained that all individuals had been released and suggested the situation was more complex, petitioners argued that the detainees were held in unofficial locations by personnel in plain clothes. The court expressed concern about one individual, Rudra, reportedly still unaccounted for, and directed the police to locate him and provide an update.