human rights defender

Manjeet

Organization affiliation

  • Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS)

HRD's year of birth

2000

HRD's Gender

Man

Type of HRD

  • Academic

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Civil and political rights
  • Labour rights
  • Land rights

HRD's geographical origin

Semi urban

Current Status

Released

HRD's bio and work

Prominent labour rights defender from the Dalit community and a member of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS), an organisation advocating for the rights of contract workers in Haryana State.

Detained since

Mar 12, 2026

Date of release

Mar 14, 2026

Charge(s)

  • Anti-government propaganda

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Asia: Southern Asia

Location of detention - City/Town

Special Cell Unit Office, New Friends Colony, Delhi

Location of detention - Facility

Special Cell Unit Office, New Friends Colony, Delhi

Allegations / reports of ill-treatment

On 12 th March, Manjeet was abducted near (Karnaal Bypass when he was going to Kundli) Press Club of India, he was blindfolded and taken to the Special Cell office, New Friends Colony, Delhi. He was interrogated about family, then beat on his nape (guddi), stripped naked to check his religious identity, only because he mentioned his brother’s name was ‘Anwar’ which is a common Muslim name whereas his name is ‘Manjeet’, a Hindu’s name. When the police confirmed that he belonged the Schedule Caste community and was a Dalit, they used castiest slurs against Manjeet. He was then detained in a cell, forced him to strip naked and were coercing him to make a false statement about knowing some people they were showing pictures of. On 13 th March, he was taken to a different room, again stripped naked and beaten. While being naked they made him clean the premises of the room, including brooming, mopping, and cleaning all the furniture like the table, fan and chair. Then the police asked him to hold his private parts in his mouth, to which he refused. So, they kicked his back by folding his arms behind. Then in the cell, there was a middle-aged person, so the police threatened Manjeet that he will be subjected to sexual assault by the other inmate of the cell. The police released all of them including Manjeet on 14 March; his mobile and wallet were seized and not returned, and he was threatened that if he returns to Delhi, the police will kill him.

Recent case update / evolution

After the abduction of the activist, an Habeous Corpus petition has been filed before the High Court of Delhi. The Court has ordered a detailed enquiry into the torture and illegal detention. The court is awaiting reports from the Concerned Police.

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