By MANISH ANAND
The alleged day-long interrogation of former Indian postal officer Ashish Joshi over a social media post raises serious questions about police accountability, detention and the rule of law.
New Delhi, September 3, 2026 — The disappearance of former Indian postal officer Ashish Joshi and subsequent findings that he had been taken away by the sleuth of the Special cell of the Delhi Police come as a stunning turn of events in India’s democratic discourse. While Joshi was taken for an “interrogation” in the morning on Wednesday, he was allowed to speak to his wife only at 6.30 PM — till then Joshi was a subject of speculation for most, and a cause of panic for the family members.
That the police can simply whisk away from a morning walk park is stunning. That even a former Indian postal officer could be a subject for summary detention is revealing. That the police will not adhere to the rule of law of declaring the detention is numbing. That Joshi, per media reports, was subjected to a day-long interrogation for a social media post is arguably a dangerous turn.
Indeed, the episode has come close on the heels of the July 20 police crackdown against the peaceful protestors at the Jantar Mantar Road in New Delhi. The youth in their 20s faced batons and allegedly pellet guns. They were tear-gassed. Some even allegedly suffered electric shocks.
Not that Joshi’s day-long detention is a first. Some others have met similar fates in other states. Some languish in jails without trials. Joshi’s case is worrisome for the context.
Media reports said that the police interrogated him because he posted a claim that the “HM and HS” had a big showdown over the manner in which the police dealt with the CJP protestors. Joshi even claimed that the HS got the extension despite the opposition of the HM. The abbreviated terms stand for Home Minister and Home Secretary.
If the media reports were to be true, then Joshi’s alleged detention and interrogation, as claimed by him in a post on X, reveal the police action was provoked possibly by personal reasons. If a citizen can be subjected to such an ordeal due to personal reasons, then the writing on the wall should be apparent.
The Delhi Police certainly owe an explanation. Why and how was Joshi detained? The accountability must be fixed, for a rule of law lapse risks becoming systemic when repeated very often.
(This is an editorial.)
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