Ashish Joshi alleges he was questioned by Delhi Police for nearly nine hours.
Joshi is a 1992-batch Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service officer.
Police version: He was questioned in an old case and was not arrested.
Former senior bureaucrat Ashish Joshi has alleged that he was questioned by the Delhi Police Special Cell for nearly nine hours on Wednesday after being picked up during his morning walk. The episode came to light after Joshi posted on X that he had returned home after being taken to the Special Cell, and later alleged that police officials did not allow him to inform his family about his whereabouts for several hours.
In the early hours of Thursday, Joshi addressed Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar directly on X, urging him to ensure that police officers immediately inform the families of people taken for interrogation or detention.
Who Is Ashish Joshi?
Joshi is a 1992-batch Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service officer and a former Controller of Communications in the Department of Telecommunications.
During his bureaucratic career, he held several positions in the Department of Telecommunications and was posted as the DoT Controller of Communications in Uttarakhand. According to his LinkedIn profile, Joshi holds a Master of Management Studies in Public Policy from IIM Bangalore.
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit has described Joshi as a close friend and said the former bureaucrat retired as an Additional Secretary to the Government of India.
Joshi came into public focus on Wednesday evening after posting on X: “Just got back home. Delhi Special Cell dropped me home. Details later.”
He subsequently alleged that he had been taken for questioning after his morning walk on the assurance that the process would be brief.
“Yesterday, I was taken for interrogation after my morning walk under the assurance that it would take very little time,” Joshi said in his post.
What Did Ashish Joshi Allege About The Interrogation?
Joshi alleged that as the questioning continued for hours, he repeatedly requested that his wife be informed about his whereabouts. According to him, the police officials told him they were “following instructions”.
He claimed he was permitted to call his family only at 6:38 pm, after several hours had passed.
“I request that you issue clear instructions to all units directing officers to strictly uphold the legal duty of immediately informing the family of any person taken for interrogation, so that no citizen’s family has to endure the distress that mine suffered,” Joshi said.
The Delhi Police has not issued a public statement on the episode so far. However, PTI, citing police sources, reported that Joshi was questioned by the Counter Intelligence unit of the Special Cell at its New Friends Colony office in connection with an old case.
According to the media reports, Joshi’s statement was recorded and he was allowed to leave in the evening. No arrest was made.
The police sources also disputed Joshi’s allegation regarding his family, saying that he and his family had been duly informed about the case when he was brought in for questioning.
The details of the old case have not been made public.
