Jammu and Kashmir police have allegedly detained about a dozen cyclists and others for failing to stand up for the national anthem at a cycling event attended by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on June 25.

The police have only acknowledged that some people have been “bound down for good behaviour” — jargon that, a lawyer said, refers to people being forced to sign bonds of good behaviour.

However, a cyclist involved in the event told The Telegraph that 12 people — amateur cyclists and their companions — had been detained at Srinagar’s central jail.

Media reports have said a dozen people were arrested for “not standing up” for the national anthem at the June 25 event, and that a few policemen were suspended for failing to ensure that everyone stood up.

Sources said the police were wary of publicising the cyclists’ alleged show of disrespect for the national anthem – which had happened in the presence of Sinha and senior police officers — for fear that it would dent the administration’s “all is well” narrative.

This correspondent contacted the families of some of the allegedly detained cyclists but they refused to talk, apparently fearing that the youths would face longer detentions if they spoke up.

“There is an unverified news doing round (sic) that 14 policemen/ persons have been arrested/ suspended for disrespecting the national anthem,” Srinagar police tweeted on Thursday.

“It is clarified that the news is completely false, rather 12 persons have been generally bound down for good behaviour under sections 107/ 151 of CrPC.”

The twin sections allow the police to arrest or detain a person, or ask them to sign a bond, in anticipation of a crime.

The police have not clarified whether those “bound down” have been charged with disrespecting the national anthem.

On June 25, the Jammu and Kashmir police had organised a “pedal for peace” event in collaboration with the J&K Cyclists Association on the shores of the Dal Lake. Sinha was the chief guest and senior police officers, including DGP Dilbag Singh, were present.

The cyclist who spoke to this newspaper said the police had called him and other participants over the phone the same day and asked them to identify those who had failed to stand up for the national anthem. “We were shown videos of the event and the faces of those who did not stand up,” he said.

“People had come from different corners of the Valley and had been cycling for hours. Maybe some of them were too exhausted (to stand up), or maybe there was some other reason.”