Nine student organisations from Jamia Millia Islamia have strongly condemned the “illegal abduction, enforced disappearances, and brutal custodial torture” of student activists by Delhi Police.
In a joint statement, All India Revolutionary Students Federation (AIRSF), All India Students Association (AISA), All India Students Federation (AISF), Fraternity Movement, and Student Federation of India (SFI), amnong the few, alleged that detainees were “stripped, beaten, electrocuted, and subjected to degrading abuse, including having their heads forced into toilet bowls.”
The arrests were carried out without proper warrants, jurisdiction, or informing local police, a violation of arrest protocols under Article 22 of the Constitution. Police also allegedly issued threats of sexual violence, warning female activists they would be raped with rods, the statement read.
Among the detained was psychologist and social worker Samrat Singh, who was previously falsely implicated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2009 and jailed for five years before being acquitted.
Singh is one of seven activists detained by the Delhi Police’s special branch, the statement read. Six have since been released, but Rudra, a 20-year-old student of Zakir Hussain College, remains missing since July 18. The student had boarded the Howrah-New Delhi Duronto Express from Kolkata and contacted his friend at 7:40 am, after reaching the New Delhi Railway Station.
Those earlier detained include Gurkirat, Gaurav, and Gaurang, members of the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM); Baadal and Ehtemam of Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation; and Samrat Singh.
Gurkirat was released on July 16, followed by Gaurav and Baadal the following day, and Gaurang and Ehtemam on July 18.
Rudra’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The groups accused Delhi Police of bypassing arrest norms laid down by the Supreme Court. They also flagged multiple legal violations under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) also issued a statement, calling the treatment of detainees “custodial torture” and “a direct assault on the rule of law.”
“These acts amount to criminal offences, wrongful confinement, kidnapping, assault, and criminal intimidation,” CASR said, adding that the intimidation of female activists constitutes sexual torture under both Indian and international law.
Jamia student bodies said the state targets students and activists not for wrongdoing but for speaking out against injustice. “Our unity is the defeat of fascists,” the statement concluded.
