Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Ex-Bureaucrat Ashish Joshi Alleges Nine-Hour Incommunicado Delhi Police Questioning
Ashish Joshi is a former government official.
Delhi Police questioned him for about nine hours.
The questions were reportedly connected to his social media posts about the Election Commission of India.
Joshi said officers took him after his morning walk and promised it would take very little time.
He said police did not let him tell his wife where he was for several hours.
He said he was allowed to make a phone call at 6:38 pm.
Joshi believed this broke rules meant to protect people who are detained.
Police sources said he was questioned in a case involving possible provocation that could cause a riot.
He was released in the evening, and police had not immediately answered his claims.
Former bureaucrat Ashish Joshi said Delhi Police questioned him for nearly nine hours over social media posts concerning the Election Commission of India.
Joshi alleged that police did not allow him to inform his wife about his whereabouts for several hours.
Police sources said Joshi was picked up in Chanakyapuri for questioning in a case registered two days earlier.
The case was registered under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, concerning alleged provocation likely to cause a riot.
Joshi was released in the evening, reportedly after people gathered outside the Special Cell office demanding his release; police did not immediately respond to his allegations.
- Who
- Former bureaucrat Ashish Joshi and the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
- What
- Joshi was questioned for nearly nine hours over social media posts concerning the Election Commission of India and alleged that he was temporarily prevented from contacting his wife.
- When
- He was questioned on Wednesday and discussed the incident on Thursday, September 3; he was released in the evening.
- Where
- Police sources said Joshi was picked up in Chanakyapuri and questioned at the Special Cell’s counter-intelligence office in New Friends Colony, New Delhi.
- Why
- Police sources linked the questioning to a case under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning alleged provocation likely to cause a riot.
Joshi’s Allegations
Police Account
Contact with family
Joshi’s Allegations
Joshi alleged that police did not allow him to inform his wife about his whereabouts for several hours, leaving his family and friends in panic.
Police Account
Police sources described the incident as questioning in a registered case, but Delhi Police had not immediately responded to the allegation about communication.
Legal safeguards
Joshi’s Allegations
Joshi called the conduct a blatant violation of the Supreme Court’s D K Basu judgment and Article 22(1), which he said protect the right to inform a family member or friend.
Police Account
The available police account did not address Joshi’s claims about the D K Basu judgment or Article 22(1).
Reason for questioning
Joshi’s Allegations
Joshi said he was questioned over social media posts concerning the Election Commission of India.
Police Account
Police sources said the case was registered under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, concerning provocation with the intent or knowledge that it is likely to cause a riot.
- Person questioned
- Ashish Joshi, a former controller of communications in the Department of Telecommunications
- Questioning duration
- Nearly nine hours
- Reported pickup location
- Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
- Questioning unit
- The counter-intelligence unit of the Special Cell of Delhi Police in New Friends Colony
- Case provision
- Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- Reported phone call
- Joshi said he was allowed to call at 6:38 pm
- Release
- Joshi was released in the evening and was reportedly taken home by police
