Taken in broad daylight

Ten activists and students were allegedly “abducted” by Delhi Police’s Special Cell over three days in March, held without documentation or legal process, and subjected to what rights groups describe as custodial torture and sexual violence.

At around one in the afternoon on March 12, outside the rust-coloured gates of Delhi’s Dyal Singh College, the day moved at its usual pace. Students trickled out of classrooms. Some gathered at tea stalls. Others scrolled through their phones, killing time before the next lecture.