The Delhi police on Wednesday clarified that the seven Tibetans, who were picked up from Hyderabad house on Tuesday, were merely detained and not arrested as was reported in certain newspapers.

Interacting with media persons, Rajan Bhagat, public relations officer of Delhi police, said: "These were preventive arrests and there is no intention to prosecute them. They were sent to jail and now that the Chinese president Hu Jintao has left Delhi, their personal bonds will be accepted and they will be allowed to go."

The claim of the police is however contested by Anubha Rastogi, advocate for the Tibetans.

"They first picked up 8 persons and not 7 from Pragati Maiden as they were about to enter the trade fair. That was on day one of the visit. On the second day, the Delhi police picked up 100 Tibetans from various places in the capital and took them to Tilak Marg police station. They were produced before the executive magistrate Sujjan Singh who sent them to Tihar jail for one day," Anubha told rediff.com.

"Earlier they were telling my clients that they have been detained for a short while and that soon after the Chinese president left Delhi, they will be allowed to go. Now they have to wait for one more day," she added.

Youdon Auktsang, one of the Tibet [Images]an activists who had been spearheading the movement for Free Tibet, said that they had a harrowing time during the last one week at the hands of the Delhi police and that they were forced to vacate a camp where some of the delegates from other states were put up by them.