New Delhi: Advocate Fidel Tom, a practicing lawyer in Delhi, who went to the Sanjay Colony Police post in Delhi’s Maidan Garhi area to seek the release of three detained student protesters, was instead detained himself and allegedly beaten up by police personnel on Saturday (October 10). According to student activists, Tom and the three students, Saurabh, Nikhil and Harsh, remained in police custody for several hours, with allegations that all four were brutally assaulted.The detained persons were released by the police shortly after midnight, The Wire has learned. A medico-legal examination has also been conducted.The detentions took place amidst Delhi police’s crackdown on a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), along with several left student organisations, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Police imposed restrictions across central Delhi, with heavy barricading at multiple entry points and thousands of police personnel deployed to prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in the national capital. Police detained protesters at various checkpoints as they attempted to enter central Delhi. As per media reports, more than 7,000 protesters were detained, including several leaders who had called for the demonstration such as Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurabh Das and Neha Bora.Tom, a lawyer practising in Delhi, went to the Sanjay Colony Police Post after getting news that some protesters had been detained there. On reaching the post, he enquired about the detainees and especially the reports that they were being beaten by the police.According to an account shared with The Wire, “Upon reaching the Police Post, a man in plain clothes approached Tom and identified himself as a police officer. When Tom asked him why he was not wearing a uniform, the man allegedly became agitated and forcibly took him to a washroom, where he and several other police personnel beat him up. Tom was reportedly bleeding after the assault.”AISA student activist Abhigyan confirmed to The Wire that Tom had gone to the police post to represent the three detained students and was subsequently detained himself.“The police have beaten all four of them very badly. And they haven’t released them yet (till 11:15 pm). The police have released other people from the police station, but these four are still being held,” Abhigyan said.He identified the four as Tom, Saurabh, Nikhil and Harsh, clarifying that Tom is the lawyer among them while the other three are students.Lawyers who went to seek the release of Fidel and the other detainees alleged that they were denied permission to meet them.Student activist Maitri, who was detained during the crackdown and taken to the same police post, shared her account of how protesters and other people in the area were picked up by the police.Maitri said she had reached the INA area at around 5:50 pm, when the police had largely cleared protesters from there. She alleged that police personnel began detaining people from the area, including an elderly man who said he had not come to participate in the protest.“When I tried to stop the police from picking him up, they started dragging him towards a bus. Later, they dragged a very young girl, and the four people who were holding her. They put her on the road, and she appeared to be semi-conscious. We were trying to help her when the police surrounded us and started saying, ‘Take them too, take them too,’” Maitri said.She said that she and her sister were then pushed into a police bus by male and female police personnel, despite telling the police that they had not participated in the protest. According to Maitri, the police did not inform the detainees where they were being taken.Maitri said they reached the Sanjay Colony Police Post in the Maidan Garhi area at around 7:50 pm. Inside, she saw around 10-12 young men being held. She said she heard from others that some detainees who had arrived earlier had been taken into rooms and beaten up. However, Maitri said she had not personally witnessed the alleged assault on Tom or the other men.However, other eyewitnesses recounted the alleged beating of Tom and the three detainees. She further alleged that the police had locked the gate of the police post and allowed only one or two detainees inside at a time to use the washroom, limiting their opportunity to speak to other people in custody. Maitri said the police had also failed to inform detainees about where they were being taken, and that the personnel in the bus were not wearing nameplates.The Wire contacted the station house officer (SHO) under whose jurisdiction the Sanjay Colony Police Post falls regarding the allegations against the police personnel. The SHO said he would gather information about the incident and then respond. “Main iske baare mein pata karke batata hoon,” he said. However, he had not responded at the time of publication of this report, despite a subsequent message seeking his response.The Wire also called the ACP and DCP under whose jurisdiction the police post falls, but they did not respond. Questions were sent to them via text message, but remained unanswered.