Several of those detained during Sunday's protests said they were physically mistreated before police transported them to a community centre in Pandwala Khurd — a location approximately 38 kilometres outside Rajiv Chowk — where they were held from 8pm without access to mobile phones or medical care. Among those reportedly held, claims included children. Delhi High Court advocate Gaurav Jain travelled to the location and subsequently corroborated those assertions. Authorities rejected the allegations of physical mistreatment, stating that detainees had access to food, drinking water, and medical attention throughout.
The protesters who had been held in custody were released at around 9:30 that night.
Advocate Gaurav Jain, who practises at Delhi High Court, travelled roughly 38 kilometres to reach the community centre in Pandwala Khurd — a village he had no prior knowledge of — after detainees held on Sunday sent out an appeal for legal assistance. Those making claims asserted that minors had been held together with other detained protesters, while one person noted that the holding location had shifted repeatedly — from Kapashera to Chhawla and eventually to a village he had not previously encountered.
Around 8pm, Jain made his way to the location alongside a group of fellow lawyers. He said that officers intercepted him at the entrance and withheld access to the detainees for a period of several minutes. He then dialled 112 to summon a police control room vehicle and separately contacted the principal magistrate of juvenile justice board-7, requesting that she obtain a status report from the SHO regarding the minors being held.
Following his release, Arjun — who had been held in detention after taking part in the protest — said in a recorded message that he had been present near Connaught Place at roughly 3pm on Sunday. He recounted witnessing officers forcibly detaining a couple who had been crossing the street, with no women among the police personnel present, and said that one of those held stated that officers had moved against them and taken them into custody when they attempted to intervene.
Those present told reporters they were first moved to a remote stretch of road near Rajiv Chowk, where they were directed to sit in rows before officers requested that they hand over their mobile phones along with the corresponding passwords. According to Arjun, an inspector attempted to open the photo gallery on one individual's phone, stating an intention to remove a video from that day. Arjun said that when the individual raised an objection, a slap was delivered in response.
Transferred to a second law-enforcement transport, the detainees were placed inside a cabin whose interior had been divided into approximately seven or eight separate cells by iron bars running the length of the space. Arjun's account placed four of those present under the age of majority. He said that physical force was used against the group despite prior assurances that cooperating would guarantee their safety, adding that there had been nowhere to go as the blows continued. At approximately 6:53 in the evening, the vehicle pulled into Chhawla police station.
At the Pandwala Khurd community centre, authorities logged the personal details of all those brought in, a process that extended to the young people among them. Authorities denied that any violent incidents had taken place in Pandwala Khurd. The statement put forward by authorities held that no individual taking part in the demonstration had been physically harmed by personnel deployed at the scene, with officers adding that those held had been given access to basic provisions. According to a ranking police officer, the group arrived at approximately 8pm and was free to go by around 9:30pm.
Video footage captured Jain at the gate, where he addressed the CRPF personnel on duty, asking them to allow him inside. According to Jain, the attorneys boarded the PCR vehicle they had themselves called — a point he underscored in Hindi: "Humare bulane pe hi police aayi hai" — indicating that the police presence came at the lawyers' own request.
The detainees were released at roughly half past nine that evening. One detainee's hand showed visible marks, and an account from the scene indicated that phones had been confiscated from those present and that physical force had been used against him when he objected. Jain said that upon enquiring whether the individual had received any medical attention, officials placed him in a van and transported him away.
Authorities stated that food, drinking water, and basic medical attention for those with injuries were made available to the demonstrators throughout the period in question. Authorities at Pandwala Khurd also put forward a rebuttal to claims that phones had been taken from individuals or that those gathered in protest had faced any form of misconduct from personnel on the ground, with an official statement asserting that neither women nor any other participants in the demonstration encountered harassment throughout the operation.
A police presence remained in place after those detained had been freed. Buses were deployed to connect people making their way out of Pandwala Khurd with nearby metro stations and bus stands, giving them onward access to the wider public transport network, according to the officer.