23 July,2026 07:39 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Ishaan Deore, PhD scholar from Nashik who was detained for about 23 hours after visiting New Delhi to take part in protest
A 29-year-old PhD scholar from Nashik, Ishaan Deore, who had travelled to Jantar Mantar to participate in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest, was among around 58 students detained by the Delhi Police. He and a few others told mid-day that they were picked up without any instigation, confined, paraded, and detained for the entire night and released after spending about 23 hours in police custody.
The youth, who has returned home, expressed hope that the agitation would not fizzle out despite many protesters being injured and facing police cases. Deore said he had taught students for almost a decade, including those preparing for the NEET and other competitive exams, and knew what was at stake when there is a paper leak.
Protesters at Chhatrasal stadium in North Delhi (right) The bus which Deore and other protesters were made to board after being picked up from Jantar Mantar. Pics/By Special Arrangement
"I reached Jantar Mantar between 11 am and 11.30 am on Monday. The crowds had just started gathering. I was lathi-charged, and they tried to shoo me away. They were trying to disperse the protesters, but as I shouted that the crowd must stick together and not get scattered during the march, the cops singled me out and picked me up. They thought I was leading them, which I was not. I was roughed up and put in a police bus near Krishi Bhavan."
"The police bus was almost empty when they put me in, and in an hour it was full. On the way, they even picked up a few who were not a part of the protest. Probably, they had a target. They took us to the police station. They tried to be nice to us in the initial few hours, saying how they too had done similar things in their youth. We were told that they would let us go."
"A blank paper was passed around asking us to add our names and numbers. They were not even cross-checked or verified. After this, we were put in a private tourist bus, and I thought they would leave us out of the city, but we were taken to Chhatrasal stadium and detained there till 12.30 am."
"I guess by this time, they had received orders, and our phones were confiscated, and they started becoming harsh with us. We were taken to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital in Jahangirpuri, where they verified our names, took our thumbprints, and noted identification marks. We were then split into groups and detained overnight at Model Town police station."
"The next morning, we were handed over a bunch of papers to sign. I said I wanted to read what I was signing, for which I was slapped. I made an attempt, but the text was in Hindi, and I am a slow reader. We have all signed the papers."
"We were then taken to the magistrate at Jahangirpuri who warned us to stay away from such activities and we were let go. I was detained around 1 pm on Monday and released around noon on Tuesday, 21 July. I made my way to Hazrat Nizamuddin station and caught my pre-booked train back to Nashik."
Umesh, Prayagraj resident
âIt was hell. The police used to call us individually and harass us. The police inspector didn't have any identifiers. We were not given any food. They had taken away our phones as well. They kept asking us if what we were doing would change the system, etc, but there was not a word about the NEET paper leak. We were warned never to be seen near Parliament again'
Jitendra Rana Thakur, teacher from Haryana
âThe issue is not just the NEET paper leak. Every single exam paper is leaking. In Haryana, our teachers' exam papers leaked. This systematic failure needs to be fixed. The police treated us very badly, detained us for more than 23 hours, and threatened us with all sorts of things. We were treated like criminals and put in lock-ups just for asking for justice'
July 20
Day Ishaan Deore arrived in Delhi
