NEW DELHI: Mohammad Junaid Malik, the volunteer who gained attention for distributing free food and water to students during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, has moved the Supreme Court alleging illegal detention, questioning by Delhi Police and harassment of his family members.Who is Junaid Malik?Malik came into the spotlight after videos of him distributing free food at the protest site went viral on social media. He had been providing food and water to protesters during the agitation, which was held to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue.According to Malik’s plea before the Supreme Court, he was allegedly picked up by Delhi Police officials around midnight on July 24 while he was returning from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital after receiving an anti-rabies injection.He alleged that he was kept blindfolded overnight, confined inside a police vehicle for nearly five to six hours, and questioned about the source of funds used for supplying food to protesters.Malik claimed that officers repeatedly asked him, “Who funded the food?” He further alleged that his mobile phone was forcibly unlocked and searched during the questioning.Appearing for Malik, advocate Prashant Bhushan told a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that his client was “taken blindfolded to Mussoorie, Uttarakhand”. Malik alleged that he was later abandoned near Dehradun.The plea also alleged that Uttar Pradesh Police harassed Malik’s family members because of the support he extended to the agitation.According to Malik’s petition, police officials allegedly pressured his family to ask him to stop participating in the protest, return home and disclose the source of funds for the food supplied to demonstrators.The plea stated that questioning and alleged coercive actions were carried out by DSP (Rural), Ghaziabad, ASP Masuri, SHO Masuri and two Intelligence Bureau officers from Delhi, who also questioned family members of Malik’s married sister.The Supreme Court agreed to hear Malik’s plea, in which he has alleged illegal detention, intimidation and coercive action against him and his family members.Delhi Police has not publicly confirmed Malik’s allegations. According to reports, police officials have said that the claims are being examined.The allegations come days after the CJP-led march towards Parliament on July 20 turned violent, with clashes between protesters and security personnel. Police used lathis and tear gas shells to disperse crowds attempting to move towards Parliament. The protests later spread to several states.
