Activist Tehseen Poonawalla alleged that the Delhi Police placed him under house arrest on Saturday when he attempted to leave his residence to protest against rising sugar prices, which he described as a “sugar scam,” as well as the Centre’s E20 ethanol-blending policy.
Videos posted by Poonawalla on X showed him questioning police officers about why he was being stopped from going to Jantar Mantar. An officer said his permission to visit the protest site had been cancelled because his presence could create a law-and-order issue, including the possibility of supporters joining him. The officer also cited concerns that “some wrong people” could join the gathering.
Poonawalla questioned whether he could be prevented from protesting based merely on that possibility. He later said that Team Bharat, the citizen advocacy group he founded, had planned a peaceful demonstration over increasing sugar prices, which he alleged were being driven by policies benefiting politically connected families.
Poonawalla claimed the police had detained him at his home and said he was under house arrest without being shown any documentation. He also posted that he and others had been detained and suggested he could be arrested if he attempted to leave.
According to Poonawalla, police referred to problems arising from protests at Jantar Mantar the previous day. He questioned why those protesters, who he said had been singing Vande Mataram and the Hanuman Chalisa, were considered a reason to stop his demonstration.
He further alleged that the E20 ethanol-blending policy was damaging vehicles and said his protest was focused on both E20 fuel and rising sugar prices. He argued that the two issues were putting pressure on household budgets, claiming that policies benefiting politically connected individuals were affecting consumers through higher sugar costs and vehicle-related expenses.
Poonawalla later described the issue on X as “the sugar scam” and called it “a bitter scam in the face of a policy.”
