Delhi Activists ‘Abducted, Illegally Detained’: PUDR Alleges Police Excess

PUDR accuses Delhi Police of abducting and detaining activists, alleging serious rights violations.

(Photo: PTI)

The People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) has accused the Delhi Police’s Special Cell of “abduction and illegal detention” of ten activists between March 12 and 14, alleging serious violations of due process and custodial violence.

In a press release issued on March 16, PUDR said the activists—associated with Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM), and Mazdoor Adhikar Sangh (MAS)—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 statement said. “In short, the police ‘disappeared’ ten activists and kept them in their custody without contact with the outside world.”

PUDR said it took “three habeas corpus petitions filed by families” for the activists to be released. The Delhi High Court agreed to hear the matter on March 15, following which “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 statement added.

The rights group raised concerns about alleged custodial violence, stating that “at least seven of the detainees were badly beaten in custody,” according to lawyers. It further alleged 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 [from] charges of abduction, illegal detention and torture,” PUDR said, adding that “the police did not bother to show the documentation regarding notices served.”

Lawyers also flagged that “the police [were] seizing phones and digital devices from all the detainees,” the statement said.

Contradicting the police’s version, PUDR claimed that “some of the abductions were carried out in broad daylight in the capital city.” It said “two activists are stated to have been picked up from near a college in Central Delhi,” while “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.”

Describing the incident as a “targeted attack,” PUDR alleged that “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.”

The group also linked the incident to a previous case, stating that “the same Special Cell had detained eight members of BSCEM and FACAM in July 2025 for over a week,” during which activists allegedly faced “brutal torture, humiliation and harassment.”

On the court proceedings, PUDR noted that while the High Court ordered preservation of CCTV footage from alleged abduction sites, “barring the directions on CCTV footage, the Court did not subject the police to strict examination.” It added that “there is an apparent shifting of onus to the activists to prove the brazen attack on them.”

In one case, involving an activist identified as Rudra, “torture was alleged and a request for the constitution of a medical board” was made, but “the Court did not pass any directions on this aspect,” PUDR said.

Calling the incident a “shocking instance of the Special Cell’s impunity,” the organisation demanded “immediate action against guilty policemen who were involved in abducting, illegally detaining and torturing the activists.”

The Delhi Police has not yet publicly responded to these allegations.