'I Was Detained at My Gurugram Home for Being Part of a CJP WhatsApp Group'

'I felt I wasn't free as an Indian,' says a senior journalist who was put under preventive detention on 10 October.

Senior journalist Ivor Soans writes about how the Haryana Police placed him under preventive detention at his Gurugram home on 10 October merely for being part of a CJP WhatsApp group.

(Image altered by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

On 10 October, when I took my dog Theo for a walk in the evening, for the first time in my life I had a policeman shadowing me. That I was even allowed to walk my pet given my wife was unwell and couldn’t do it is something I should be thankful for, according to the police officer.

Because I was under “preventive” detention.

And why so? Was I planning to attend the peaceful protest planned at Jantar Mantar?

No. Was I encouraging others to attend the protest? No.

My only crime was that I was part of the Gurugram CJP [Cockroach Janta Party] WhatsApp group that was open to anyone to join. That was enough for the Haryana Police to determine that I was supposedly a threat to peace and had to be detained.

'Discussions on School Reform'

I had joined the said WhatsApp group through a link sent by a friend some weeks ago. The idea was to learn more about the CJP's 'School Thik Karo' campaign—and get involved directly if I could.

Most of the discussions on the group were related to improving government schools. I came across people who were passionate about education for all and special needs schools for the poorer sections of society. I wasn't an active participant in those conversations, and unfortunately, couldn't attend any meetings they called for school visits either.

As for the protest on 10 October, some members on the group mentioned they planned to go. It was clear to me that everyone wanted a peaceful protest. Nevertheless, I had no such plans. I hadn't even sent any message on that group for over a week.

So, when some Haryana Police personnel landed up at my door, my family was shocked. I wasn't even home. I had taken my younger son for his football coaching session. My elder son, who was at home, called me in panic.

'They Said They Were Following Orders'

Once I got back home, around 12:30 pm, three policemen led by an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Haryana Police returned, accompanied by our building complex's security supervisor. They said they wanted to talk to me and said they wanted to come in. So, I allowed them in.

They asked me what I did for a living, where I worked, and what I had to do with the CJP. I informed them that I had nothing to do with them, except that I followed their work as part of a WhatsApp group.

They then asked if I was planning to go for the protest in Delhi. To which I said no, pointing out that the protest was called in the morning and it was already past noon—and that I was still at home in my shorts.

I also told them that if I was planning to attend, I would gladly admit to it because a peaceful protest isn’t illegal in a democracy.

The ASI informed me that he had orders to place me under detention for 48 hours—and that the decision they had to make was whether to detain me at the police station or at home. I asked them on what basis they were putting me under detention when I was merely part of a WhatsApp group, and had not explicitly mentioned on the group or otherwise that I was planning to take part. Moreover, I was clearly just going about my day.

They refused to consider this, repeating that they had orders but declining to say who had issued them. When I pressed them, they said that even if I didn't go to the protest at Jantar Mantar, I could still create trouble at my apartment complex or organise CJP protesters there.

Of course, this was ridiculous. But whataboutery has neither logic nor end. They then threatened to take me to the police station and seize my mobile phone and other belongings. They remained polite throughout, but the menace was never far beneath the surface.

I also showed them my Press Club of India ID card and told them that I was a journalist with decades of experience, but they refused to consider anything.

They then said they would detain me at home. So, a policeman in plainclothes was placed outside my door, and I was told neither I could go out anywhere nor anyone could come and meet me.

'No Explanation, No Paperwork'

Obviously, this entire episode has made other residents in the complex and the security guards look upon my family with suspicion since then. The only time I could step out for a few minutes was to walk my dog. Even then, I had the cop suspiciously tailing me as if I would take my pet and run off to Jantar Mantar!

In the evening, a uniformed policeman replaced the policeman posted in the day. The next morning, however, there was no one without any explanation. When I called the ASI, he told me he would call me back within a few minutes after he confirmed, but he never did. I have not received any paperwork related to this detention.

What shocks me is that simply being part of a WhatsApp group was used as grounds for preventive detention. That when I made it repeatedly clear to them that I wasn’t going to the protest.

For the first time in my life, I felt I wasn’t free as an Indian. That we can be locked up without any reason, logic or proof.

I know my experience is not in any way comparable to the horrors we are witnessing each time we open social media on our phones—of students, lawyers, activists, journalists, and the aam aadmi being pushed, pulled, thrashed, and violated and more, but frankly, despite it being a home detention, I felt as if someone was choking me that day.

Being on a WhatsApp group is a crime in India today.

Haryana Police's Response To The Quint

"We got information from our seniors that these people might participate in the protest organised in Delhi. So, to maintain the law and order situation, he was detained in his house as per orders from our seniors," ASI Tilok Chand, who detained Ivor Soans at his house on 10 October, told The Quint.

When the ASI was asked the reason for his detention when it was already past noon, and after he repeatedly specified that he had no plans to protest, he said,

"Everyone says that they aren't participating. We didn't use any force against him. We requested him not to go out from their house. We had apprehensions that they might go out from their house because they had joined some protest groups on WhatsApp."

When The Quint asked if joining a protest group is a criminal offence, the Haryana Police officer said that it was not a criminal offence, but "these steps had to be taken to maintain law and order."

The Quint has also reached out to Gurugram's Sector 65 Police Station and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Gurugram South Zone, regarding the allegations made by the author. The article will be updated with their responses as soon as they respond.

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)