29 rights groups demand probe into alleged enforced disappearances, torture of student activists in Delhi

A coalition of 29 civil society and diasporic organisations has issued a joint statement condemning what they describe as the “enforced disappearance and custodial torture” of student and youth activists by Delhi Police in mid-July. The groups are demanding a full and independent investigation into the alleged illegal detentions and human rights violations.

According to the statement, several activists associated with left-leaning youth and student organisations—including Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) and the Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM)—were forcibly taken from different locations in Delhi and Haryana between July 9 and July 19. The individuals were reportedly held incommunicado, without arrest warrants or access to legal counsel, and not produced before a magistrate within the legally mandated timeframe.

The groups say the detainees were held at a police station in New Friends Colony, a residential area in South Delhi, where they were allegedly subjected to brutal treatment. Activists reported being stripped, beaten, electrocuted, and threatened with sexual violence. One account described heads being submerged in toilet bowls and female detainees being threatened with rape using rods.

“These acts amount to enforced disappearances and custodial torture, which violate both domestic law and international human rights conventions,” the statement reads. The alleged detentions come amid growing concerns over shrinking space for dissent in India and increased state surveillance and repression.

Last week, one of the detainees shared the ordeal with Maktoob. Student Activist Baadal said, “I was in my hometown, but the moment I returned to Delhi, officers from Delhi’s Special Cell took me away without any prior notice.”

For a week, Baadal and others were held in separate cells, where they allege they were subjected to torture and police brutality. “We were beaten up. Men more than women, but everyone was assaulted. I was verbally harassed, and a drunk police officer also tried to touch me inappropriately,” she said.

Rights organisations argue that these cases reflect a broader strategy of targeting students and marginalised communities, particularly those speaking out against state actions in regions like Bastar, Manipur, and Kashmir. They point to public statements made by top Indian officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which frame civil society as a threat to national security.

The signatories include groups such as Hindus for Human Rights (UK and USA), the Indian Workers Association (GB), the Indian American Muslim Council, and several student and academic networks across Europe and North America.

The statement emphasised that the lack of arrest records, judicial oversight, or formal communication with families or legal representatives constitutes a severe breach of both Indian constitutional protections and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a signatory.

The statement calls for immediate accountability, legal recourse for the victims, and international attention to what it describes as “the normalisation of state violence in India’s democratic institutions.”