Majid Ansari discharged from hospital after five days, questions legal basis of police detention

A young activist in Nepal is challenging his detention by police, alleging he was injured and pressured to sign documents without a proper arrest warrant. Majid Ansari, a law student, was detained after visiting a holding center for displaced squatters in Kirtipur. He claims police assaulted him when he demanded to see an arrest warrant.

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I have not received any arrest papers. Police officers keep coming and pressuring me to sign a document, but I have refused.

Ansari stated that police repeatedly asked him to sign a document without presenting an arrest warrant. He alleges he was "grabbed from behind and beaten" and verbally abused. He questioned how he could be in police custody without a formal arrest.

Police initially said Ansari was detained for obstructing their duties. However, Kathmandu Police spokesperson Pawan Kumar Bhattarai later denied Ansari was arrested or under investigation. Bhattarai stated police intervened during a clash at the center, and Ansari was injured and taken for medical treatment.

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I was grabbed from behind and beaten. My vision became blurred and I could not see properly for some time.

Sarisma Thapa and Nelson Ghatani, also detained with Ansari, were released the same evening after giving statements. Ansari, however, remained hospitalized and alleged police officers stayed in his room for days until lawyers intervened.

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He was not arrested. Police intervened when two sides clashed at the holding centre gate, and he was injured in the process.