More than 700 people were detained during protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with detainees alleging that police personnel slapped them, assaulted them inside vehicles, confiscated mobile phones and transported them as far as 40 kilometres from the protest sites. Delhi Police has denied that minors were detained and said everyone taken into custody had been released before 10 pm on Sunday.
The allegations followed the second consecutive day of demonstrations organised by the Cockroach Janta Party and student organisations over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The accounts were reported after Hindustan Times spoke to detainees. The allegations have not been independently established, and Delhi Police had not issued a detailed response to the specific complaints at the time of reporting.
Several protesters said they were held for hours without clear information about their whereabouts or release. Lawyers and activists circulated appeals on social media seeking information about people taken into custody after the demonstrations. Some legal representatives reportedly followed police vehicles after receiving location details from protesters who had managed to retain their phones.
Arjun Unnikrishnan, a 30-year-old researcher and lawyer, said he was detained near Connaught Place between 3 pm and 3.30 pm on Sunday after seeing police personnel take a couple into custody. He alleged that officers pushed his group into a Delhi Transport Corporation bus and detained bystanders who were not participating in the protest.
Unnikrishnan said detainees were made to sit in rows near Palika Bazaar while their mobile phones were confiscated. He alleged that those who refused to disclose their passwords were abused and humiliated, and that officers examined material stored on the devices. He further alleged that detainees were assaulted inside a police vehicle, including blows to the chest, back and private parts.
According to his account, the vehicle travelled first to Chhawla and then to a community centre at Pandwalan Khurd in southwest Delhi. He alleged that more than 50 men were held there, that some detainees were assaulted, and that requests for drinking water, food and medical assistance went unanswered for nearly two hours. He said the group was released around 10 pm, although some people could not recover their phones. Unnikrishnan later visited a hospital for injuries to his face, chest and back. Hindustan Times reported examining a medico-legal certificate that recorded an alleged history of police assault.
A second detainee, a 23-year-old employee of an e-commerce automation startup, said he was picked up near Connaught Place at 4.18 pm and assaulted after being moved to a police van. He alleged that minors were also among those detained and said he sustained injuries while being dragged. He shared photographs showing marks on his hand and chest.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Kushal Pal Singh denied that minors had been detained and said all those taken into custody had been released before 10 pm on Sunday. He did not comment on the specific allegations of assault or mobile-phone confiscation. The police headquarters official cited in reports put the number of detainees at more than 700, while the circumstances of the alleged injuries and treatment of those detained remain contested.
