By Nikita Jain

Rights groups on Friday said that ten people belonging to civil society were allegedly picked up by the Delhi Police.

The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) issued an urgent statement condemning the alleged abduction of the ten people by the Delhi Police and other state agencies, who include two labour rights activists, two anti-displacement activists, and six students whose current whereabouts remain entirely unknown.

The series of disappearances reportedly began on March 12. Delhi University psychology student Ilakkiya and labour rights activist Shiv Kumar were allegedly picked up by unidentified personnel in plain clothes. The two had visited Dyal Singh College to meet faculty member Sachin N to discuss activities for Anti-Imperialism Week.

According to local shopkeepers, a woman agent in civilian clothing forcibly escorted Ilakkiya into a waiting Scorpio vehicle equipped with VIP lights near the JLN Metro station around 1:00 pm. Witnesses suggest Kumar had already been forced into the vehicle. CASR said that by 1:30 pm, Ilakkiya’s phone was switched off, and neither has contacted family or colleagues since.

On March 13, more people were arrested. Manjeet, an activist associated with the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, went missing while returning home. He had just attended a CASR programme demanding the release of imprisoned lawyer Surendra Gadling, who is incarcerated in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Later that same evening, around 8:00 pm, local residents reported that Delhi Police detained seven more individuals from the BSCEM student organisation office in Vijay Nagar. Those taken include Akshay, Drishti, Rudra, Kiran, and Gaurav from BSCEM, along with Badal and Ehtemam from the Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation (FACAM).

It is to be noted that some of the missing individuals have also faced recent detentions. Ilakkiya, Kiran, and Akshay spent a month in Tihar Jail late last year following an India Gate protest against Delhi’s severe air pollution.

This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.