On Sansad Marg, the nearly 500-metre stretch connecting Connaught Place to Jantar Mantar , about 250 people stood on the road on Friday evening. But not one was a civilian. Delhi Police personnel, Rapid Action Force members and other central paramilitary forces occupied the carriageway, flanked by towering anti-riot vehicles, buses and police vans. Officers huddled in groups, ate snacks on pavements and listened to briefings from senior officials.
Previous protests and police justification
Jantar Mantar, the intended focal point of the protest, was sealed off even to media personnel. One of the heaviest deployments was at the Tolstoy Marg- Sansad Marg intersection, a key approach to Jantar Mantar, and outside Parliament Street police station. At least two layers of barricades blocked pedestrian and vehicular movement towards the protest site. The carriageway leading to the Ashoka Road roundabout was blocked at Connaught Place’s Outer Circle, with traffic diverted to the opposite carriageway. “The right to peaceful protest is an important democratic right. Police used tear gas and baton charges after protesters attempted to breach barricades. Videos circulated on social media appeared to show some protesters being beaten, while police maintained that force became necessary after demonstrators turned violent.
With a massive gathering expected on Saturday, the Capital has been turned into a fortress, with more than 40,000 Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel deployed to prevent protesters from converging on Jantar Mantar for a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities. Its connecting roads were barricaded and manned by security forces, with loudspeakers at three key entry-exit points broadcasting warnings in Hindi and English against gatherings, processions, road blockades and other prohibited activities under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Delhi Police said more than 15,000 of its personnel had been deployed to handle Saturday’s anticipated protest, with the number of central force personnel in the city expected to be around 26,000. The October 10 protest comes months after the CJP-led agitation in July, when thousands attempted to march towards Parliament on July 20, demanding the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan . The protest continued until July 25, when Pradhan resigned.
At the same time, New Delhi houses important establishments and offices of constitutional authorities,” additional commissioner of police and PRO Rajeev Ranjan said.
Delhi Police, meanwhile, defended the heavy restrictions, citing violence during earlier demonstrations.
