The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has condemned the fascist abduction and torture of students and Left activists by the Delhi Police, stating that the police are functioning as ‘thugs in uniform’ to suppress democratic voices through violent intimidation.
In a statement issued on March 17, AISA said that around 10 students and activists were abducted over multiple days at the end of last week. The abductions were carried out in the open without any documentation or identification, by individuals claiming to be police personnel. Since then, there have been reports of brutal torture, with no information made available regarding their arrest. The police released them only after habeas corpus petitions were filed in the Delhi HC to ascertain their whereabouts and secure their release.
AISA said it was absurd to the extreme that the police claimed in court that FIR details could not be provided to the accused on the grounds that they were “confidential”. It said that arrests were carried out in secrecy, the FIR was treated as confidential, and even legal proceedings risk being reduced to secrecy, raising serious questions about the state of democracy. This amounted to a complete mockery of the rule of law, with the police being given free rein to abduct and torture citizens. Such actions reflect an authoritarian and fascist state functioning openly.
AISA condemned the incidents and expressed solidarity with all those who were abducted and tortured. It also extended solidarity to political prisoners across the country, stating that dissent is being systematically targeted and suppressed.
