Mumbai Cop Transferred After Threatening to 'Plant Drugs' on Protesting Students
The Mumbai Police have ordered an inquiry and transferred a police driver from his posting after a viral video showed him threatening to plant drugs on two protesting students. The video, posted by the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday, has sparked allegations of illegal detention and misuse of preventive detention laws against student protesters.
The policeman, assigned to the Sion Police Station until his removal, was seen in a video telling two youths, “If I see you around here again, then it will not be good for you. I will directly plant 50 grams of powder. Then your life is gone. You won’t get bail. We are in trouble because of you all. Don’t come back.” The conversation took place inside a vehicle, with the policeman in the driver’s seat. The two youths recorded the video and can be heard laughing. The Hindu could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Following the video’s circulation, a delegation of Maharashtra Congress, led by its president Harshawardhan Sapkal, met Maharashtra Director General of Police Sadanand Date and Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti to demand action. The party submitted a memorandum calling for the immediate release of detained students, alleging that the police’s pre-emptive detentions were anti-democratic and illegal.
“The action taken by the Mumbai Police against young people between the ages of 16 and 30 who are peacefully trying to raise their voices against the chaos in the education system is highly anti-democratic and illegal,” the memorandum stated.
According to the Congress, between 500 and 700 students were illegally detained across Mumbai on July 20, 2026. The party claimed that many students were picked up from metro stations, public roads, and even their homes before reaching the main protest site. “On the day of the action, students were detained on mere suspicion, without any legal prohibitory orders (Section 144) in force in Mumbai and without any solid legal grounds,” the memorandum added.
The Congress further alleged that false First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against students at Shivaji Park, Dharavi, Chembur, and other police stations. It accused police officers of forcibly accessing students’ personal mobile phones without court orders and forcing them to share live locations, which it said violated fundamental rights. The memorandum claimed that between 200 and 300 students remained detained at various police stations, including Dharavi, Mahim, Juhu, Chembur, and Dadar.
“It is a fundamental right given by the Constitution to express our opposition peacefully and democratically. However, the police system is trying to destroy the future of students by treating them like criminals,” the party said.
The Congress demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all students, withdrawal of false FIRs, suspension of the police officers involved in checking phones and making illegal arrests, and a thorough investigation.
In response, a Mumbai Police official confirmed that an inquiry had been ordered. “Mumbai Police has ordered an inquiry into the matter, and action will be taken after verifying the facts. The driver has been removed from his present posting till the completion of the inquiry,” the official said.
The state Home Department confirmed that the policeman was moved out of Sion Police Station pending the inquiry.
