Akhilesh alleges students abducted by U.P. police in Prayagraj, authorities refute claim

The Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday (July 28, 2026) alleged that many students in Prayagraj have been abducted by a special team of Uttar Pradesh Police in a vehicle without number plates.

He demanded that students should be released immediately, and all the policemen and senior officers involved in this illegal activity should be suspended, and strict action should be taken against them.

“For the information of the entire country: Very serious news. In the name of Prayagraj protest, many students have been picked up by a special team of UP Police in a vehicle without number plates. When the central government had promised that no action would be taken against any student, then at whose behest is this fraud being committed? Is the Uttar Pradesh police trying to prove the Prime Minister’s assurances and promises to be mere rhetoric? All the abducted students should be released immediately and all the policemen and senior officers involved in this illegal activity should be suspended and strictest action should be taken against them. The Hon’ble Court is requested to take immediate cognisance of the threat looming over the lives of these students,” Mr. Yadav wrote on X, along with a video. 

The Prayagraj police have registered two First Information Reports (FIRs) at the Civil Lines police station in connection with the alleged vandalism of two SUVs and an attack during Saturday’s student protest.

“Some anti-social elements entered the students’ protest, got involved in violence and damaged public and private property. We have identified 10 people through CCTV footage and arrested them; they were not at all students,” said Vidyut Goyal, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Civil Lines, to The Hindu.