Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*

A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

Rudra was last known to be traveling from Kolkata to New Delhi on the Howrah–New Delhi Duronto Express, which arrived at New Delhi Railway Station around 7:40 AM on July 19. After contacting a comrade upon arrival, Rudra was en route to their residence but has since vanished. His phone has been switched off, and the last communication was a text message to his family around 7:00 AM. Over 12 hours have passed with no success in locating him.

The disappearance of Rudra comes against a backdrop of recent alleged illegal detentions of activists by the Delhi Police Special Cell, leading to inferences that he may have been unlawfully picked up. This pattern is viewed by many as a troubling escalation of state repression targeting student and people's movements across Delhi and beyond. Questions are being raised about Rudra's whereabouts and, if detained, why his arrest has not been disclosed to his family or legal counsel, in apparent violation of constitutional norms. Demands are mounting for his immediate production before a court, and for the Delhi Police and Central Government to be held accountable for his safety and well-being.

Further deepening concerns, other student activists from organizations such as the Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (BSCEM) and Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization (FACAM) have also reportedly gone missing in the past week. Among those named are Etmam Ul Haque (FACAM), Baadal (FACAM), Gaurang (BSCEM), Gaurav (BSCEM), and Vallika Varshi (Nazariya Magazine). Samrat Singh, a social activist and psychologist, is also reported missing.

On July 9, student activists Gurkirat, Gaurav, and Gauraang of BSCEM were allegedly picked up without arrest warrants, their families uninformed, and held incommunicado at the New Friends Colony Police Station. Two days later, on July 11, Ehtmam-ul Haque and Baadal from FACAM reportedly faced similar situations in Delhi. Samrat Singh was allegedly dragged from his home in Haryana, outside the Delhi Police's jurisdiction, without local police knowledge or court orders, and reportedly without basic constitutional protections.

Reports from activists who were allegedly in custody describe being subjected to severe mistreatment, including being stripped naked, electrocuted, beaten, having their heads forced into toilet bowls, and facing threats of sexual violence, particularly directed at women activists. These accounts are cited as evidence of state terror and a grave deterioration of human rights.

Campaign Against State Repression Condemns Actions

The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) has issued a statement expressing grave concern and strong condemnation of what it describes as a wave of illegal abductions, enforced disappearances, and custodial torture of democratic activists in Delhi and surrounding areas. CASR asserts that these actions violate civil liberties, democratic rights, and constitutional, statutory, and international legal protections.

According to CASR, the detentions on July 9 of Gurkirat, Gaurav, and Gauraang by the Delhi Police were conducted without arrest warrants or notice, in violation of Sections 35 and 36 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and their families and legal counsel were not informed. Similarly, the alleged abductions of Ehtmam-ul Haque and Baadal on July 11, and Samrat Singh from Yamunanagar, Haryana, reportedly occurred without adherence to legal procedures outlined in Article 22 of the Constitution of India or the D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1997) Supreme Court judgment, which mandate informing the arrested of grounds for arrest, access to legal counsel, and preparation of arrest memos.

CASR highlights that the alleged torture in custody—including being stripped naked, beaten, electrocuted, degrading treatment, and threats of sexual violence—constitutes a direct violation of the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and amounts to criminal offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. These acts include wrongful restraint and confinement, kidnapping and abduction, voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt, and criminal intimidation, in addition to violations of human rights and atrocity prevention acts where applicable.

CASR views these incidents as part of a broader national pattern of state repression under what it terms the "Surajkund Scheme," aimed at silencing democratic dissent. The organization characterizes the current situation as an "undeclared emergency" marked by surveillance, forced surrenders, and normalized custodial violence, where activists are treated as "enemies of the state."

As of the CASR statement, Ehtmam-ul Haque and Samrat Singh are reportedly still detained illegally at New Friends Colony Police Station, without being produced before a magistrate within the mandated 24-hour period under Article 22(2) of the Constitution and Section 187 of the BNSS, 2023.

CASR demands the immediate and unconditional release of Ehtmam-ul Haque and Samrat Singh, a judicial inquiry into the alleged abductions, enforced disappearances, custodial torture, and threats of sexual violence, and the registration of criminal cases against and prosecution of responsible police personnel and officials. The organization also calls for an end to the alleged targeted criminalization of student activists and civil society voices through arbitrary detention, surveillance, torture, and fabricated cases.

CASR, an organizing team comprised of numerous civil liberties and student organizations, urges all sections of society to unite against what it describes as an assault on democratic freedoms and a descent into "fascist authoritarianism."

---

*Freelance journalist

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