Delhi Police detained around 700 people at Jantar Mantar on October 2 as opposition leaders and activists protested against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while security measures disrupted movement across central Delhi.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, activists Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav and Aishe Ghosh, and Left leader Brinda Karat were among those detained, according to The Indian Express. Congress workers and AISA activists were also part of the gathering.
The protest followed Delhi Police’s decision on Thursday to deny permission for the demonstration. Police issued a statement warning against gatherings of five or more people and crowds engaging in chanting or sloganeering. The restrictions prompted criticism from organisers, who said authorities were limiting the right to peaceful protest.
Bharadwaj said in a video message before the protest that the Aam Aadmi Party had applied for permission six days earlier for a peaceful demonstration. “Protesting is our democratic right,” he said, while referring to the police decision not to grant permission.
Police officers were seen detaining people who gathered in groups of 10 or more and moving them away from the protest locations in buses. Those detained were taken to locations including Badarpur police station and police stations in Outer North Delhi. The main gathering later shifted towards Janpath, where dozens of people continued to assemble.
Police also stopped protesters from moving towards Parliament and the Jantar Mantar area. As part of the security arrangements, the Delhi Metro temporarily closed entry and exit at 12 stations in central Delhi, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat and Jantar Mantar. Internet services were suspended at the protest site and in nearby areas.
The protests were linked to concerns raised after an Indian Express investigation reported disagreements within the three-member Election Commission. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected 14 times over 10 months to aspects of the Special Intensive Revision process, including alleged modifications to Form 6, which is used for new voter registrations, and the centralisation of the ECINET voter-list software.
The claims in the investigation have become the basis for demands that Kumar resign and that the Election Commission provide answers on the functioning of electoral-roll systems. India Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib separately announced plans to surround the Election Commission office, saying questions about electoral rolls required accountability.
Similar protests were expected in Mumbai, where the Cockroach Janta Party planned a “jail bharo andolan” at Shivaji Park after Mumbai Police denied permission for a gathering. The organisers linked their protest to questions about the differing outcomes of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections, although those claims remain political allegations rather than established findings in the supplied report.
The immediate administrative response in Delhi has therefore combined police detentions, movement restrictions, transport controls and an internet shutdown around a central protest zone. Further action will depend on decisions by the police and organisers regarding gatherings at Janpath, the Election Commission office and other proposed protest locations.
