Police and security personnel stand guard during a protest organised by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at the Jantar Mantar. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
A truck loaded with stones that was found parked near Jantar Mantar ahead of the July 20 march to Parliament had been seized by the Delhi Police four days earlier and was in police custody when it appeared at the protest site and later outside the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) office, according to a Newslaundry report published on Tuesday (July 28, 2026).
The Delhi Police, however, said claims alleging that the truck was deliberately deployed near Jantar Mantar or outside any political party office were “false and misleading”.
On July 20, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke had pointed out a truck loaded with stones parked near the protest site and demanded an explanation from the Delhi Police on how it crossed the police cordon and reached the site. “It could have been used to frame the protesters or incite violence,” Mr. Dipke said. However, the police did not respond to his queries.
The Newslaundry report stated that the truck was found outside the IYC office on Raisina Road on July 25 and had reportedly been parked there since July 21. The State president had also pointed out the truck parked outside their office for multiple days.
According to the report, the truck loaded with stones was taken into the custody of the Delhi Police after it collided with a van on July 16 at the Firoz Shah Road-Kasturba Gandhi Marg crossing. Both vehicles were brought to the malkhana (storage facility) of the Sansad Marg police station.
The report quoted an officer at the Sansad Marg police station as saying that the truck was parked right outside the station until July 20. After a video of it being parked at the protest site went viral, the police took the truck to Bhalswa, emptied it, brought it back and parked it at the same spot again.
The investigating officer in the crash gave a different account. He said the truck was initially shifted because of the protest and had remained in the malkhana after the video went viral. However, the officer did not respond to questions on how it reached the IYC office. A third version was given by the Station House Officer of the Sansad Marg police station, who told Newslaundry that the truck had been emptied on July 19 and that the viral video was “an old one”.
Police response
The Delhi Police, in a statement, said, “The truck was seized on July 16 in connection with FIR No. 65/2026 following a road accident involving the truck and an EECO van, in which six persons were injured earlier that day.”
“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 added.
The Delhi Police rejected allegations linking the vehicle to any conspiracy against protesters and advised citizens not to circulate unverified information.
When asked what the “safer location” was, New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma told The Hindu that the truck had never actually reached the protest site. It had been “away from the protest site” and still was parked there, without revealing the exact location. The van too, he said, had been parked “near the police station” since its seizure. “The statements given by the police officials in the said report are factual and verifiable. There are no contradictions,” the DCP said. When asked what a truck was doing in a zone restricting entry, he said approved vehicles could enter with permit.
Published – July 29, 2026 01:00 am IST
