Truck with stones at protest site was in police custody, report says; police call allegations false

New Delhi: A truck loaded with stones that appeared near Jantar Mantar ahead of the July 20 march to Parliament had been in Delhi Police custody since July 16, according to a Newslaundry report published on Tuesday. The reported finding has raised questions about how the vehicle reached the protest site despite police cordons, while the Delhi Police have dismissed suggestions of any deliberate deployment as "false and misleading."

The truck was first flagged by Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on the day of the "Chalo Sansad" march. Mr. Dipke, who had organised the protest, asked police to explain how a stone-laden truck could cross security barriers and park near the venue. He expressed concern that it could have been used to frame protesters or trigger violence. Police did not respond to his queries at that time.

According to the Newslaundry investigation, the truck was involved in a collision with an EECO van on July 16 at the Firoz Shah Road-Kasturba Gandhi Marg crossing. Six people were injured in the accident. The truck and the van were both taken to the malkhana, or storage facility, of the Sansad Marg police station. An officer at the station told Newslaundry that the truck remained parked outside the station until July 20. After a video showing the truck near the protest site went viral, the police reportedly took it to Bhalswa, emptied its load, and brought it back to the same parking spot.

The same report states that the truck was seen outside the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) office on Raisina Road on July 25 and is said to have been there since July 21. A state president of the IYC had also pointed out the vehicle's prolonged presence near the office.

The investigating officer in the accident case gave a different account. He said the truck had been moved because of the protest and remained in the malkhana even after the video surfaced. When asked how the truck later appeared outside the IYC office, he did not respond. A third version came from the Station House Officer of the Sansad Marg police station, who said the truck had been emptied on July 19 and that the viral video was "an old one."

The Delhi Police have defended their handling of the vehicle. In a written statement, they said the truck was seized on July 16 in connection with FIR No. 65/2026. "The vehicle was initially parked near the Parliament Street police station for safe custody due to space constraints. Considering the law and order arrangements for the 'Chalo Sansad' march, it was later emptied and shifted to a safer location in the early hours of July 20, after the owner was instructed," the statement read.

At a press interaction, New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said the truck had "never actually reached the protest site." He maintained it was parked "away from the protest site" but declined to specify where. He also said the van involved in the accident had been parked near the police station since its seizure. When asked how a stone-laden truck could be stationed in a zone with restricted entry, Mr. Sharma said vehicles with permits were allowed.

The police have urged the public not to spread unverified information. But the contradictions between official statements and the Newslaundry report have left key questions unanswered, including how the truck, if in police custody, came to be parked near a protest site and later outside a political party office.