Delhi Police Special Cell Questions Former Bureaucrat Ashish Joshi Over Online Posts
The Delhi Police’s Special Cell detained former bureaucrat Ashish Joshi from Nehru Park on Wednesday and questioned him for several hours regarding his online activity before allowing him to return home.
Two men in plain clothes approached Mr. Joshi during his morning walk at Nehru Park and asked him to accompany them to the Special Cell’s office in New Friends Colony. Taking to social media later in the evening, Mr. Joshi confirmed that police officials had dropped him back at his residence.
Mr. Joshi is a 1992-batch Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service officer who retired as an Additional Secretary-rank official on March 31. His detention sparked concern among acquaintances and prompted criticism on social media over allegations that he was taken away without his whereabouts being immediately disclosed.
Former Congress MLA Sandeep Dikshit, a college friend of Mr. Joshi, said he learned about the detention from Mr. Joshi’s wife after being unable to reach him by phone. In a post on X, Mr. Dikshit stated that Mr. Joshi had been assisting him in reaching out to civil society and called on the Delhi Police to clarify where he had been taken.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also raised questions on X regarding the police action, stating that Mr. Joshi had been picked up by plainclothes personnel during his morning walk. Transparency activist Anjali Bharadwaj urged authorities to clarify whether he had been detained, disclose his location, and specify the legal provisions under which he was held.
The Delhi Police did not immediately disclose details about the case or the specific online activity under investigation. The questioning followed recent social media posts by Mr. Joshi regarding police action against protesting students at Jantar Mantar, Q1 gross domestic product figures, and alleged failures in infrastructure projects.
Mr. Joshi was previously suspended by the Union government in February 2019 after demanding action over social media posts by then Aam Aadmi Party legislator Kapil Mishra, who later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
