CAA Protests: What Are Your Rights If You’re Detained by Police

Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas

Thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Thursday, 19 December, defying the government-imposed lockdown declared in several parts of the country, to stage peaceful protests against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act.

In the national capital New Delhi and Bengaluru, hundreds of protesters were detained by the police for allegedly defying Section 144 that has been imposed in these areas.

Left leaders Sitharam Yechury, D Raja Congress' Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit, and activists Yogendra Yadav and Umar Khalid were among those detained in Delhi, while in Bengaluru, noted historian Ramachandra Guha was among the several others held by the police.

If you are planning to join the protests in your city, here’s what you need to know about your rights should you be detained by the police:

• Being detained is not the same as being arrested.
• The person must be produced before the Magistrate within 24 hours of being detained.
• They also have the right to know why they are being detained. One can speak to the Station House Officer under what sections the cops are detaining them.
• The detained has the right to ask the police to call their lawyer. They also have the right to ask for a lawyer to be present when they are being questioned.
• They also have the right to remain silent as anything they say may be used against them in the court of law.
• The detained has the right to remain silent and not sign any paper/bonds as asked by the police.
• The concerned person also has the right to request for medical assistance and to be examined for major and minor injuries on their body.
• If the person is a woman, you can be detained only by a female police officer, only before sunset and after sunrise.
• The cops do not have the rights to take away the belongings of the detained person.
• Those being detained by the cops have the right to ask them where they are being taken.
• The detained must make it a point to inform friends/family of where you are being taken.

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