A Muslim man who had been serving food and water to protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar has moved the Supreme Court, alleging that he was illegally detained and harassed by the police, Live Law reported.

Junaid Malik has also alleged that members of his family were subjected to coercive action without due process being followed.

On Saturday, Malik’s family members were released after being detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district, their lawyer had confirmed to Scroll.

In his petition, Malik, who claims to be a law graduate and a social worker, has alleged that he and his friend were “picked up” by Delhi Police officers on Friday while returning from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after taking an anti-rabies injection, Live Law reported.

They were kept inside a vehicle for five to six hours, the plea stated. The officers snatched Malik’s phone and forced him to unlock it, it added.

The plea further alleges that Malik and his friend were detained overnight in what appeared to be an “interrogation room” and questioned by senior police officers, the legal news outlet reported.

The officers asked Malik to disclose the source of funds for providing food and water at the protest site, the petition said. It also alleged that the officers abused Malik and threatened to invoke the National Security Act against him.

On the morning of July 25, Malik, along with his friend, was left in a forest around 16 km from the Dehradun-Mussoorie road, the plea said. They were also allegedly asked by the officers to not switch on their mobile phones for an hour.

The application also alleged that on July 23, his father was “picked up” from their Ghaziabad residence and questioned for several hours about the family’s bank accounts and Malik’s whereabouts, Live Law reported.

It further alleged that on July 24, a team of 10 to 12 police personnel raided the family’s home, searched the premises, damaged furniture and sought identity documents and bank account details of family members.

Malik has sought directions from the court to prevent any further coercive action against his family and to ensure that the police follow due process during the investigation, Live Law reported.

The agitation began in Delhi on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign began a__ protest__ at Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister.

Pradhan resigned on Saturday afternoon, after which the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign called off its protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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