I was on my morning walk, they took me away; released me in the evening’

A former Controller of Communication Accounts and retired bureaucrat Ashish Joshi was questioned for nearly nine hours on Wednesday, 2 September, after being picked by Special Cell of the Delhi Police.  The action is reportedly linked to his recent social media posts.

Although he was released in the evening, the manner in which the police picked him up—leaving his family completely in the dark—has raised serious legal and ethical questions on procedure.

After his release, Ashish Joshi took to X and expressed distress and indignation, tagging the Delhi Police Commissioner. He wrote that informing the family during detention or interrogation is a legal mandate, not merely an optional courtesy. He recounted, "On Wednesday morning, while I was out for a morning walk, police personnel took me along, saying it would take very little time. However, as time passed, when I asked to inform my wife, the officers flatly refused, citing 'orders from above'."

Joshi stated that he was allowed to call home for the first time at 6.38 p.m. Throughout this period, his family and close friends remained in a state of severe mental stress and anxiety, fearing the worst. He has demanded that the Police Commissioner issue strict directives to all police units to ensure that no other citizen's family endure such harassment.

Earlier, Congress leader and former MP Sandeep Dikshit criticised the police over the entire operation. He noted that Ashish Joshi was picked up by police personnel in their vehicle while he was on a morning walk at Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri. According to Dikshit, Joshi had tried to call him in the morning, but the call did not go through, and subsequently, his phone remained switched off.

Dikshit stated that despite making rounds of several Special Cell offices and the Delhi Police headquarters, the police for hours refused to disclose Joshi’s whereabouts. Citing an eyewitness, he mentioned that two police officers took Joshi to New Friends Colony saying they needed to question him regarding a post on X. Even as family members and lawyers made inquiries, police officials avoided giving a clear answer.

Following escalation of the matter, the police offered a clarification—though not an official statement. According to police sources, Joshi was brought to the Special Cell office in New Friends Colony around 10 a.m. and released at 7 p.m. The police maintain that he was not arrested but was summoned to record a statement in connection with an old case.