Activist Tehseen Poonawalla alleges house arrest ahead of march against E20 fuel policy

New Delhi: Activist Tehseen Poonawalla on Saturday alleged that he was placed under house arrest, without any written order, in Greater Kailash by the Delhi Police ahead of his proposed solo march and hunger strike against the BJP-led Centre's E20 fuel policy.

Poonawalla had announced on July 27 that he would walk alone from APJ Abdul Kalam Marg to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg - the site where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated - and observe a day-long hunger strike on Friday against the policy.

Sharing several videos on his X account, Poonawalla claimed that around 9.30 am, about half an hour before he was scheduled to leave for the march, several Delhi Police personnel, including women officers, arrived at his house and stopped him from stepping out.


He said that the police neither showed him any order nor provided any documents for detaining him. Poonawala further alleged that officers told him they were preventing him from leaving because thousands of people were expected to join the march.

In one of the videos, Poonawalla is heard asking a police officer how he could be detained without any written order.

"No papers, nothing. I am under house arrest... 'Azaadi ke 15 din pehle aap mujhe detain kar rahe' (You are detaining me 15 days before Independence Day)," he told the officer.

The police officer responded that the proposed march could have led to a law and order situation and asked Poonawalla to cooperate.

In a post on X, Poonawalla alleged that journalists present outside his flat had informed him they were unable to access the internet because jammers were installed near the house.

The activist announced the solo march on Friday after police allegedly denied permission for his proposed Team Bharat "Gaadi March" to Parliament on July 31.

He also said in a post on X that his Instagram account had been suspended and was restored a few hours later, claiming that Delhi Police prevented him from speaking to the media and threatened that citizens joining the protest could be arrested and their vehicles seized.

"Walking alone and sitting alone in silence is not a violation of any law. I will sit at the spot where Bapu was assassinated in maun vrat, observing a day-long hunger fast," Poonawalla had said while announcing the protest.

Poonawalla has been campaigning against the E20 fuel policy and has criticised Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari over the issue.

He has demanded that consumers be given the option of purchasing conventional petrol along with E5 and E10 fuel blends instead of being required to use E20 fuel.

One of the principal demands of his campaign group, Team Bharat, is that fuel stations continue selling 100 per cent petrol, E5 and E10 fuels so that motorists can choose the fuel best suited to their vehicles.

The Centre's rollout of E20 petrol, a blend containing 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol, has drawn criticism from some opposition leaders and consumer groups, with several owners of older vehicles claiming it reduces fuel efficiency and increases maintenance costs.