Majid Ansari, a Gen Z activist who was discharged from hospital after five days on Wednesday, questions the legal basis of his detention by police. He was detained after an altercation with police during a solidarity visit to a holding centre for displaced squatters in Kirtipur on Saturday. According to him, police officers have yet to explain the legal basis for detaining him or provide any arrest documents.

Ansari, a LLB student at Nepal Law Campus, was admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj after he was injured during Saturday’s incident at the Kirtipur holding centre, where displaced squatters had been relocated following flooding.

Ansari was among three Gen Z campaigners detained after reaching the centre to express support for the affected families. Police released Sarisma Thapa and Nelson Ghatani later the same evening after recording their statements, but Ansari has remained under medical care.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Ansari said police had repeatedly asked him to sign a document despite never showing him an arrest warrant.

“I have not received any arrest papers. Police officers keep coming and pressuring me to sign a document, but I have refused,” he said.

Ansari alleged that police officers assaulted him while taking him into a police van after he demanded to see an arrest warrant. He claimed police abused him verbally and told him not to engage in politics as a student.

“I was grabbed from behind and beaten. My vision became blurred and I could not see properly for some time,” he said, adding that he still suffers from body pain.

According to Ansari, an officer later told him he remained in police custody. He questioned how that could be the case when he had never been formally arrested under the law.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Shiva Kumar Budhathoki, chief at Kirtipur Police Circle, previously said Ansari had been detained for obstructing police while they were carrying out their duties.

According to Thapa, the three detainees were initially held inside the Kirtipur police office after the National Human Rights Commission was informed about the incident. They were later taken to Kirtipur Hospital for medical examinations.

She said hospital staff initially declined Ansari’s request for an X-ray, but the examination was conducted after police approval. Doctors later referred him to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital after concluding that further scans were necessary.

Ansari also alleged that police officers remained inside his hospital cabin for several days before lawyers asked them to wait outside.

Kathmandu Police spokesperson Pawan Kumar Bhattarai, however, denied that Ansari was under arrest or investigation. “He was not arrested. Police intervened when two sides clashed at the holding centre gate, and he was injured in the process,” said Bhattarai. “After he complained of injuries, he was taken to Kirtipur Hospital and later referred to the Teaching Hospital after doctors suspected a fracture.”

The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of police handling of demonstrations linked to recent evictions of informal settlements in the Kathmandu valley. Rights activists have repeatedly urged authorities to respect due legal process and the constitutional right to peaceful protest while maintaining public order.