“They compelled me to strip bare, compelled me to open my legs and hit me with a belt on my personal half,” mentioned Dalit activist Shiv Kumar, who was lately launched by the Delhi Particular Cell.
The ten activists who have been allegedly kidnapped by the Delhi Police from numerous places within the metropolis have alleged they have been tortured, overwhelmed, stripped, and sexually assaulted by the authorities.
On March 12, a rights group mentioned that one scholar activist and two labour activists have been allegedly kidnapped by some law enforcement officials in civilian garments. Kumar was one in all them.
“We have been ready for a gathering close to Dyal Singh Faculty when a number of individuals got here asking our names. After I advised mine, they pushed me right into a automotive and lined my eyes with a fabric,” Kumar advised Maktoob after he was launched.
Kumar mentioned that he was not conscious of the place he was being taken. After their arrests, seven extra activists, together with college students, have been picked up and allegedly kidnapped in the identical means. All of them have alleged that there was no warrant.
Kumar alleged that as quickly as they reached a location, he began getting abused and overwhelmed up.
Connection to earlier case
Kumar alleged that the Delhi Particular Cell, together with different businesses together with IB and NIA, stored asking him about Vallika.
Vallika Varshri is an activist who went “underground” after she alleged—in a letter—that she was being hounded by her mom Archana Verma, an IAS officer on the Joint Secretary degree.
In accordance with sources, the mother-daughter duo had fights over ideologies, on account of which the younger girl, who was additionally the founding father of the journal Nazariya—an English-language journal that follows Marxism–Leninism–Maoism concepts—ran away from her house.
Quickly after she left house in 2025, her mom filed a lacking criticism and named a number of different activists, who have been then allegedly kidnapped and tortured for days. They have been later launched and requested to not enter Delhi.
Shiv Kumar, who is very abled—whereby he has points seeing from his left eye—mentioned that regardless of telling them this, he was brutally tortured.
“I don’t know this girl and after I advised them that, they beat me and mentioned they know I’m mendacity,” Kumar mentioned.
He additionally alleged that they have been requested a couple of video exhibiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Benjamin Netanyahu, and US President Donald Trump in a comical method. “They requested who made this and known as me a terrorist,” Kumar alleged.
On severe allegations, Kumar mentioned the authorities compelled him to document a false assertion at gunpoint, claiming he had gone underground.
Kumar is a member of Mazdoor Aadhikar Sangathan (MAS), who has been concerned with labour unions in Haryana’s Kundli. He’s the son of a landless farmer in Haryana’s Sonepat and was additionally arrested in 2021 for participating within the farmers’ protest. He was tortured even then, for which a case was filed. The case is ongoing within the Excessive Court docket.
“I stored telling them that my work targeted on labour rights, however they didn’t hear. They stored making up these allegations and abused me continuous,” he added.
The employees’ rights activist additionally alleged he was suspended the wrong way up for over two hours and overwhelmed with a rubber baton on his decrease physique. He additionally mentioned that the officers lifted him by his beard—part of which got here out—crushed his foot underneath their footwear, and stored him handcuffed all through his detention.
Sexual assault allegations
With the grave allegations that the activists have put ahead, the case is at present being heard within the Excessive Court docket. Rudra Vikram, a scholar activist, was allegedly kidnapped by the authorities on March 14.
Rudra was additionally kidnapped in the identical method in July 2025 and later launched.
Chatting with Maktoob, Rudra, who can be the only editor of Nazariya Journal, mentioned that on March 13, two extra individuals who had gone to the police station to file a lacking criticism have been picked up by the authorities.
The identical day, Rudra alleged that as he and some others gathered to debate issues, a police official entered their property. “They pointed in direction of me and mentioned you might be Rudra, you have been arrested final time as nicely. You include me,” he mentioned.
Not like final time, the activists, who additionally included ladies, mentioned that they advised the police to get a warrant and that they’d absolutely cooperate, contemplating it was late at night time.
“They advised us they’d attain out to the higher-ups. Nonetheless, after a few hours, a senior officer got here and began threatening us. After we took a stand, they began beating us after which forcefully took us in a automotive,” he added.
Rudra, 19, alleged that he was subjected to sexual assault—whereby he was compelled to strip bare and “seize his personal components.”
“They requested me about Vallika and after I mentioned I have no idea something about her whereabouts, they began cooking up tales. They then began beating me with a rubber-like materials on my hand. In addition they kicked me on the chest and legs,” he alleged.
Rudra alleged that he was additionally blindfolded and overwhelmed up. The younger scholar activist additionally alleged that Kumar was introduced in entrance of him and coerced into saying that “he meets Vallika.”
Kumar, in the meantime, mentioned that he doesn’t know English nicely sufficient to jot down an article and even handle editorials. “Regardless of telling them this, I used to be overwhelmed and compelled to admit,” he added.
Rudra alleged that he was compelled to slap Kumar, after which they began beating him as nicely. “I used to be hit on the top. They’d tied my arms with a dupatta and tried to choke me utilizing that very same dupatta,” he added.
Each Kumar and Rudra have alleged that officers from numerous businesses have been a part of the torture.
Rudra, in the meantime, alleged that he was taken individually, whereby three officers threatened him, beat him up, and in addition threatened him with rape.
“I used to be stripped bare, whereby I used to be overwhelmed on my personal components and chest. The entire time they stored asking me about Vallika,” he added.
After some time, Rudra alleged that one other officer got here into the interrogation room, who compelled him to go underneath the desk bare. “He was consuming his meals and stored kicking me on my personal components. I used to be compelled to kiss his slippers as nicely,” Rudra added.
Rudra additional alleged that Gaurav, one other scholar activist who was additionally allegedly kidnapped and with them, was known as into the interrogation room and stripped bare as nicely.
“Each of us have been bare, they abused Gaurav and his father with casteist slurs. They compelled each of us to do obscene issues and took movies of it as nicely,” Rudra alleged.
Gaurav was additionally bodily assaulted, together with being overwhelmed with a metallic chain on his genitals. He was coerced into recording a false assertion and, upon refusal, his head was repeatedly slammed towards a wall.
Tortured and assaulted
Avinash was allegedly kidnapped on March 13 together with others. He was slapped, kicked, and humiliated, together with being mocked and feminised. He and Gaurav have been compelled into degrading acts underneath menace of violence, and additional abuse was inflicted on all detainees.
In the meantime, Marketing campaign Towards State Repression (CASR) has alleged that each one detainees have been subjected to steady bodily assault, sexual violence, humiliation, and coercion.
Manjeet Kumar, a employee and activist related to the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, was allegedly picked up whereas getting back from a solidarity programme demanding the discharge of Advocate Surendra Gadling.
CASR alleged he was stripped bare, compelled to lie face down, and overwhelmed on the soles of his ft whereas officers sat on his again.
Upon discovering his Dalit identification, officers subjected him to caste-based humiliation, forcing him to wash rooms whereas bare. He was additionally subjected to extreme sexual violence, together with being compelled right into a sexual act by an officer.
In accordance with CASR, when Manjeet’s mom and his buddy Aman went to file a habeas corpus petition, Aman was kidnapped whereas returning to Delhi. After reaching close to his village and separating from Manjeet’s mom (the petitioner), he was picked up and delivered to the Delhi Police Particular Cell workplace in New Mates Colony. He was explicitly threatened to not method the courts.
Rudra, who was additionally the final one to be launched, has alleged that the Particular Cell authorities lied in courtroom, saying that they’d launched everybody. Nonetheless, he was nonetheless in custody.
“I used to be launched late within the afternoon, after which they advised me to not inform anybody. I used to be dropped close to a metro station and I used to be adopted all through,” he alleged.
Excessive courtroom intervention
On March 15, the Delhi Excessive Court docket questioned the Delhi Police over the alleged unlawful detention of ten college students and activists within the nationwide capital by Particular Cell officers.
The matter was being heard on the premise of three habeas corpus petitions. A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja of the Excessive Court docket requested the Delhi Police to elucidate the circumstances underneath which they have been detained.
On Monday, the Delhi Excessive Court docket directed the Delhi Police to protect CCTV footage of the Particular Cell premises in reference to the latest detention of a number of scholar activists within the nationwide capital.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves and advocates Shahrukh Alam and Jasdeep Dhillon appeared for the petitioners.
Throughout the listening to, the Delhi Police’s counsel refused to share a duplicate of the FIR within the case with the accused, stating that it’s confidential, in keeping with Bar and Bench.
The courtroom will hear the matter once more on March 27.
