Delhi Police sealed Jantar Mantar and detained hundreds of protesters on Gandhi Jayanti during demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with police putting the number detained at about 550 while organisers and political leaders claimed more than 700.
More than 4,000 police personnel were deployed across Central Delhi, with the protest site divided into zones under the supervision of deputy commissioner-rank officers. Drones were also used to monitor the area, while barricades blocked access from Janpath Road, Ashoka Road, Tolstoy Road and Parliament Street.
The demonstrations had been called by opposition parties and student groups over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls and demands for Kumar’s resignation. Police stopped protesters near the Parliament Street roundabout and transported them to Fatehpur Beri and Badarpur police stations. Officials said all protesters had been released by around 6 pm.
Among those detained were former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Aam Aadmi Party Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, All India Students’ Association national president Neha Bora, Swaraj India member Yogendra Yadav and RTI activist Nikhil Dey.
Bharadwaj said before the protest that demonstrating was a democratic right, while claiming that police had said permission had not been granted despite AAP applying six days earlier for a peaceful demonstration. Atishi later alleged in a video from Fatehpur Beri police station that AAP leaders and workers had been detained with “barbarism and brutality”. Police denied manhandling protesters.
Unable to reach Jantar Mantar, smaller groups remained near Janpath during the afternoon. Students and other demonstrators raised slogans against the Prime Minister and the Election Commission. Protesters told The Indian Express that the issue extended beyond the demand for the CEC’s resignation, with concerns about possible voter disenfranchisement and accountability in the electoral-roll revision process.
The day’s policing strategy sharply restricted access to one of Delhi’s designated protest venues. The deployment followed large demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and adjoining Parliament Street two months earlier, when thousands had gathered during protests linked to the NEET-UG examination controversy.
A senior police officer said prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita would remain in force in the area until October 21. Police said no case had been filed by the evening but that they were investigating the roles of protesters.
