Around 1,000 people were detained across Delhi on Friday as police and security forces foiled attempts by student organisations and political parties to gather at Jantar Mantar and demand the resignation of chief election commissioner ( CEC ) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
With hundreds of security personnel deployed and roads leading to central Delhi sealed with layers of barricades, protesters were prevented from reaching the designated protest site. Several hundred protesters instead staged fragmented demonstrations at different locations, while others were detained and taken to police stations across the city. Police had made it clear ahead of the protest that no permission had been granted for the gathering. The restrictions were imposed to ensure public safety, maintain public order and facilitate traffic movement. Meanwhile, Mumbai saw massive gatherings as a wall of police barricades failed to halt protesters from gathering at Shivaji Park. By Friday morning, Jantar Mantar and roads leading to it had been heavily barricaded, including the lane from Janpath market and the rear access near Kerala House. Entry to the protest site was completely blocked. Police and Rapid Action Force personnel, along with a riot-control vehicle, were deployed in the area. “It took us around three hours to figure out how to reach Jantar Mantar. “By restricting us, the police have actually spread the protest across Delhi. We will come again to protest.”
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were also in force across the New Delhi district.
The orders prohibit, without prior written permission, public gatherings of five or more people, processions, demonstrations, picketing and dharnas, as well as shouting slogans or making speeches and carrying items such as banners, placards, sticks and other objects, police said. Abhijeet Dipke , chief of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which spearheaded the July 20 “Chalo Sansad” march, was at the protest, joined by thousands of protesters, actors, and activists. Finally, we decided to gather at Patel Chowk metro station and march for at least a few minutes,” said AISA activist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president N Sai Balaji. People were left with no option but to protest wherever they could — on the streets and outside various police stations where protesters were detained,” he said. AISA national president Neha said in a video posted on X: “How many times will the Delhi police detain us?
