Delhi Police Detains Protesters Ahead of CJP Demonstration
Protest Detentions in New Delhi
barricades placed by Delhi Police ahead of CJP Protest on Saturday (Photo: @ShashiTharoor/X)
New Delhi, Oct 10: On Saturday, Delhi Police apprehended numerous members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), along with lawyers and Leftist leaders, including CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and veteran politician Brinda Karat, prior to a planned demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The CJP organized the protest to address allegations of electoral roll manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and issues related to Form 6, which is essential for voter registration. However, Delhi Police denied permission for the gathering at Jantar Mantar, citing security concerns and procedural protocols.
SFI national president Adarsh M Saji reported that over 400 members were detained after they commenced their march around 10 am, with detentions occurring by 11 am.
Members of the SFI and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) had intended to march from AK Gopalan Bhawan in Gole Market to Jantar Mantar. A significant police presence was noted outside the building in anticipation of the protest.
Additionally, several lawyers who were marching from the Supreme Court towards Jantar Mantar were also detained on Bhagwan Das Road. They carried posters and chanted slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation but were halted at barricades near Gate C of the Supreme Court.
“We were detained at the barricades adjacent to Gate C of the Supreme Court. We managed to march for about 100 yards before being stopped,” one lawyer stated.
Police and Railway Protection Force personnel, equipped with protective gear, intervened to disperse the crowd. Women lawyers were managed by female officers, while other protesters were escorted to detention buses.
Baby, Karat, and other CPI(M) leaders were taken into custody at Jantar Mantar after arriving from Kerala Bhawan. Karat mentioned that the leaders shouted, “Amit Shah, dekho hum Jantar Mantar aa gaye,” before being transported in buses to Subhash Nagar Police Station.
The CJP also reported that its leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police shortly after their flight landed in the capital. The organization had claimed that police visited HKS Surjeet Bhawan the previous night to search for individuals planning to join the protest.
The detentions occurred amid increased security measures throughout Delhi, with approximately 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed. Entry and exit restrictions were enforced at 45 Metro stations, and surveillance was heightened at the city’s borders, railway stations, and bus terminals.
In a related development, a petition was submitted to the Supreme Court on Saturday, seeking contempt proceedings against the Centre, Delhi Police, and Delhi Metro authorities for allegedly disregarding the court’s directive from October 9, which prohibited a complete shutdown of metro and railway services in the capital ahead of the CJP protest.
The petition claimed that authorities maintained blanket restrictions on public transport despite the Supreme Court’s order, causing inconvenience to commuters and disrupting daily life. The petitioner requested immediate action, including the lifting of blanket prohibitory orders, restoration of regulated metro and railway services, and public notification of operational schedules.
It was also noted that the petitioner found the entry gates of GTB Nagar and Vishwavidyalaya metro stations completely closed around 9:30 pm on Friday, while exit gates were being manually controlled.
On Friday, a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, instructed the Centre to ensure that there was no “complete prohibition” on metro and railway services into Delhi on October 10. The court emphasized that while authorities could regulate services and crowd movement, they should not completely halt public transport or cause undue hardship to commuters.
The court also called for extensive publicity regarding revised transport arrangements and traffic advisories. However, Delhi Metro announced the closure of 45 stations from 9 pm on Friday until 6 pm on Saturday, citing security concerns.
Protests and alleged detentions in Gujarat
In Ahmedabad, political and social activists, including members from the youth wings of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, reported being detained or placed under house arrest ahead of the Delhi demonstration.
Activist Dev Desai claimed he was under house arrest from Friday morning until Saturday morning, with police stationed outside his home. Theatre director Savan Zalariya mentioned that police visited his residence and questioned him about his plans to travel to Delhi or organize a local protest.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot stated on Saturday that necessary actions had been taken, asserting that no one was currently under detention.
Additionally, Western Railway canceled the Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani Express from Ahmedabad to New Delhi on Friday as a precautionary measure, according to an official statement.
The Student and Youth Collective also organized a solidarity protest in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening, expecting participation from activists across various youth organizations. Similar demonstrations were planned in Vadodara.