At the Press Club of India in New Delhi on Sunday, Citizens for Justice and Peace co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das addressed journalists, raising a series of questions about the measures taken against them and the thousands of people who had joined protest marches organised under the organisation's banner.

Joining CJP member Ratna Singh, Students' Federation of India member Aishe Ghosh, and other student activists, Das raised concern over whether their confiscated phones had been accessed without authorisation. He noted that while the group had consented to the handover of their devices, they had requested a seizure memo and adherence to proper legal procedure, and that access to legal counsel had been withheld throughout. Access to the devices was withheld for a period stretching beyond a full day.

Das expressed concern that their phones had been compromised or duplicated, and that materials could have been planted on those devices to be used against them — a pattern, he noted, that had affected other activists previously.

Both individuals indicated that demonstrations would continue until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar steps down from his post, with Das adding that the push for accountability would extend beyond Delhi to encompass the rest of the country.

CJP further contended that certain groups had been working to incite violence and had behaved inappropriately toward women at Connaught Place. Ranka noted that CJP members who attempted a second march to Jantar Mantar on Sunday were taken into custody and subjected to physical force. Ranka also noted that activists from both the Students' Federation of India and the All India Students' Federation encountered treatment of the same kind.

Das raised the question of what motivations lay behind the authorities' apparent efforts to shield Kumar, asking what information Kumar might hold about the government or those leading it.

Ranka, identified as one of CJP's co-conveners, characterised the police detention of the three CJP members as an abduction, after the group was taken off a flight upon landing in Delhi on Saturday morning. On Sunday morning, the group was released. The organisation further claimed that student activists and demonstrators had been taken into custody and subjected to physical abuse.

According to the organisation, a detainee identified as Dipke was kept from communicating with his family throughout his time in custody — a period during which his grandmother passed away on Saturday.

Allegations of custodial mistreatment directed at protesters were put forward by Das, who also drew attention to the National Human Rights Commission's lack of intervention in the matter. Addressing the restrictions placed on journalists by police, he described the situation as resembling a press emergency, while also noting that the deployment of upwards of 40,000 security personnel had effectively turned Jantar Mantar into a sealed-off zone, creating hardship for those living nearby. Questions were also raised about the absence of any government-initiated dialogue with the group.

Ratna Singh, who leads legal affairs at CJP, described being placed under surveillance before the encounter — her car monitored and photographs taken of her — after which roughly 30 to 35 officers surrounded her and presented two options: accompany them to a detention facility or return home and remain there. Speaking to reporters, she described being held inside a vehicle and raised the question of what legal basis could permit that form of detention to be applied to any member of the public.

Viraaj Devang, national president of the AISF, described conditions in Delhi as resembling those of a military garrison. Residents faced restrictions on movement, according to reports, while people who had travelled to Delhi to take part in the demonstrations were taken into custody — a development that SFI national joint secretary Ghosh said raised questions about the manner in which protesters and activists had been handled by authorities.

On the matter of Dhruv Rathee's detention, Ghosh told those present that individuals without any uniform or official identification had entered his home and removed him, with no warrant having been issued or presented. In a Sunday message addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rathee raised concerns about what he described as the suppression of dissent, arguing that when people no longer weigh the consequences of speaking out, the conditions for genuine rule of law have broken down.

Not present at the news conference — he had returned to Maharashtra to be with his family — Dipke posted on X that Modi, in his capacity as prime minister, brings discredit upon India. A remark circulating on social media attributed to him described the country as never having seen a person of greater cowardice or disposition to bully others. Questions were also put to him on the platform about whether he had signed a bond committing him to cease his protest activities. In a written statement, he made clear that no agreement binding him to silence on protests had been entered into.

Ranka attributed responsibility for the breakdown in public order to Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while also indicating that street protests would resume. He argued that the detentions and restrictions had left a mark on how India was viewed internationally.

Police walked onto the grounds of the Press Club of India as the news conference was drawing to a close, touching off a disturbance among those gathered there. Those affiliated with CJP sought to leave through a back exit. Officers moved toward the back of the venue after a search of the press conference area turned up no trace of them. Some time passed before the disturbance subsided.