Students' detention: Police tell Delhi HC they are being probed for disappearance of woman, supporting Maoism

The Delhi Police on Friday told the Delhi High Court that students and activists allegedly detained earlier this month in the city are under investigation for the alleged disappearance of a woman and supporting Maoist/Naxalite ideologies. 

In an affidavit filed before the High Court, the police said that the persons were called for “lawful questioning” on March 12, March 13 and March 14 and allowed to leave each day with specific directions to appear as directed in the notice. 

The allegations of abduction, wrongful confinement, torture, sexual harassment and illegal seizure are “false, fabricated, and devoid of any material particulars”, the affidavits said.

“No such acts were committed by the officials of the Special Cell or any other agency. The investigation was conducted strictly in accordance with law and due procedure,” the affidavit stated. 

The Court was also told that CCTV cameras at two locations, whose footage was ordered to be preserved, were not working.

The affidavits were filed before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja which is hearing a batch of habeas corpus petitions filed by the kin of several activists who were allegedly picked up by the police. The activists have alleged torture by the police. 

In the affidavit, it is the police’s case that they received a complaint on July 8, 2025, from a man stating that his daughter, referred to as “Ms V”, went missing on July 3, 2025, from her residence in Delhi's Ber Sarai. She was stated to be active in civil rights campaigns and became unreachable via phone and social media.

The complaint further alleged that she may have come into contact with individuals associated with Maoist or Naxalite ideologies and could have been “brainwashed, indoctrinated, or illegally detained.”

According to the police, the complainant specifically named several individuals and organisations, including Rudra Bikram Roy, Ehtamam ul Haque, Samrat, Gaurav, and Gauraang. The individuals are allegedly associated with Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM), Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation (FACAM), Yuva Sangharsh Morcha (YSM), and Nazariya magazine, “which are alleged to be platforms for anti-national and Naxalite, the police said. 

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered on July 15 under Section 127(3) (wrongful confinement) read with Section 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). The FIR was not uploaded online due to its contents being very sensitive and related to banned organisations. It has also been stated that before the FIR was registered, certain individuals were questioned and released “in accordance with due process of law”. 

Police said that it reached a BSCEM room at Maurice Nagar on March 13, 2026 based on reliable inputs and found seven persons present there. Five of them (excluding two women) were brought to the Special Cell office for lawful interrogation at around 10:15 and women were left in the room under surveillance. 

“They were questioned but did not cooperate with the investigation in providing the desired information or whereabouts of missing Ms "V", however, were thereafter released with directions to join the investigation again on 14.03.2026 after serving with notices U/s 179 BNSS in the said FIR. They all joined the investigation on 14.03.2026, were questioned, and were again released with directions to appear o n 16.03.2026. But none of them appeared on 16.03.2026, probably knowing that the missing Ms "V", now stands recovered and police may now investigate into deeper angle of the matter,” the affidavit states. 

CCTV cameras are not working at two of the four locations

On March 16, the High Court had ordered preservation of CCTV footage at locations from where the activists were allegedly picked up. The Delhi Police has now said that CCTV cameras at two of those locations – Dyal Singh College back gate and Maurice Nagar – were not working on the relevant date and time. 

Meanwhile, the police said that they will provide the reporting regarding the preservation of CCTV footage near the Special Cell office in a sealed cover. The footage at the JLN Stadium Metro Station has been preserved, the police said. 

 Proceedings before the Court today

Advocate Shahrukh Alam appeared for Lakshita Rajora and referred to her affidavit, stating that during her detention in July last year, she was on her period and yet was not allowed to get a fresh pair of clothes or shower. 

The affidavit also stated that an intoxicated police official summoned her to his room, inappropriately touched her hands and subjected her to “traumatising, sexually coloured, and Islamophobic remarks”. 

Alam also said police seized activists’ digital devices and other belongings, and they are yet to be returned. 

After hearing the case for some time, the Court expressed displeasure with the non-functional CCTV cameras in the city. 

“What is the purpose of installing CCTV cameras if, any time we ask for it, it is not working. What is the purpose of CCTVs? Are we having some kind of toys?” the Bench said. 

However, it clarified that it was not drawing any adverse inference against the police in this case. 

“We are not drawing an adverse inference against them that the CCTV were intentionally made non-functional,” the Court said. 

Additional Standing Counsel (ASC) Sanjeev Bhandari appeared for Delhi Police and said that they will also file an affidavit in sealed cover regarding the investigation. 

The Bench allowed the parties to file fresh affidavits on record and said that the parties could reply to the affidavits filed. 

It further said that the petitioner can nominate a counsel who may collect the devices that are stated to be in the police’s possession.

The case will be heard next on April 23.