New Delhi: The Special Cell of the Delhi Police Tuesday detained All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Gaurav Pandhi in connection with an allegedly “derogatory” social media post he had made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The action came on the night several Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) led by Rahul Gandhi marched towards the Election Commission of India office and staged a sit-in at Akashwani Bhawan with the stated aim of meeting Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The matter came to light when Pandhi, who heads a specialised coordinator team in the office of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, posted on X Wednesday that the Delhi Police’s Special Cell had detained him. “I was detained by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell last evening from Central Delhi and taken to its Sadiq Nagar office in connection with a tweet I had posted against PM Narendra Modi,” it read.
“At 7.30 pm on Tuesday as I was about to get down from my car in Central Delhi, a team of 7-8 officers intercepted my vehicle. They introduced themselves and informed me that I must join them for an interrogation by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell,” Pandhi told ThePrint over a call.
I was detained by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell last evening from Central Delhi and taken to its Sadiq Nagar office in connection with a tweet I had posted against PM Narendra Modi.
I was questioned through the night and released earlier today. I fully cooperated with the…
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) October 7, 2026
Subsequently, Pandhi was detained at Special Cell’s Sadiq Nagar office until 11 am on Wednesday, he said.
“Mr Pandhi was detained for his obscene post on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His derogatory post said that Mr Modi was doing obscene things to children who were tying rakhi to him,” a senior officer aware of the matter told ThePrint.
“So, has an older uncle ever held your hand so tightly that it made you uncomfortable? You tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go and instead squeezed it even harder? That,” Pandhi’s post from 31 August had read.
So, has an older uncle ever held your hand so tightly that it made you uncomfortable? You tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go and instead squeezed it even harder?
That. pic.twitter.com/L06cJfXp6S
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) August 31, 2026
The officer further said that taking cognisance of Pandhi’s post, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by the Special Cell of New Delhi Range. Unlike other cases, however, where FIRs have been registered taking cognisance of “offensive” posts, Pandhi’s post is yet to be taken down.
Pandhi told ThePrint that in the notice served to him, the police instructed him not to change, delete, or tamper with it. Under usual circumstances, “obscene” posts or posts against which there are legal proceedings are flagged by the police to social media platforms and are immediately taken down.
Pandhi also alleged that the police seized two cellphones and a tablet containing details of all his work-related matters. “They asked me to share all passwords and remove them,” he said. The AICC secretary also alleged that the police asked him who had asked him to post that tweet, if he had shared the contents with anyone else or asked any page or individual to share or amplify it.
“The police also inquired about the protest and asked if we were trying to create unrest; however, they clarified that the detention was not related to the protests,” he said. Pandhi alleged that the police are yet to share a copy of the FIR, and his legal team will be moving court to access it.
“The Special Cell was created to deal with serious national security matters such as terrorism, counterfeit currency, narcotics and organised crime. It is, therefore, unfortunate that political free speech has reached a point where such a specialised unit has to spend its time and resources examining a political tweet,” he said.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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