Some of those detained were not even at protest site, families allege

Several people detained by the police on Monday were picked up from locations away from the protest site at Sansad Marg, families and lawyers have alleged.

Among them was a 55-year-old man who was detained from Connaught Place. His family said he was not part of the protest and had reached the area unaware of his surroundings due to a medical condition. “He suffers from episodes that cause memory loss and delusions,” his wife, a resident of Delhi Gate, said while waiting outside the Mandir Marg police station.

“Some of those brought to Mandir Marg were not even at the protest site. They were picked up from areas near the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir in C.P. The 55-year-old was one of them,” said advocate Vertika Mani Tripathi.

According to the woman, her husband had left home on Monday afternoon, saying he was going for namaz, but did not return. “We got a call around 11.30 p.m. informing us that he had been detained,” she said, adding that her husband stopped working three years ago due to his illness.

The woman said she was allowed to meet him briefly at the police station around 2 a.m. to hand over his medicines. “I waited till 4 a.m. and returned on Tuesday afternoon for his release,” she said.

Mass detentions

Police detained over 70 people on Monday and lodged them in lock-ups in North West and New Delhi districts. On Tuesday, around 60 detainees from the North West district were produced before a court and subsequently released. Those brought to Mandir Marg police station were mostly students in the 18–25 age group, according to people present there.

“All were eventually released after some procedural delay,” said a law student who had come to secure a friend’s release.