Delhi protest detentions crossed 1,000 overnight ahead of a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party-All India Students’ Association on Saturday to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to Delhi Police sources cited by The Indian Express.
Around 250 of those detained by 12.30 am were from Delhi’s South East district, particularly areas around Shaheen Bagh, a police source told the newspaper. More than 100 others were detained in Shahdara and East Delhi, districts that border Uttar Pradesh, another Delhi Police official said.
Officials described the detentions as preventive and said they followed the identification of people with a history of mobilising protesters and creating what authorities termed an “unlawful” situation. The detainees were to be moved to 13 major detention centres earmarked across Delhi’s districts ahead of the protest.
The police deployment was planned across the capital, with more than 30,000 personnel expected to be on the ground. Border areas were also scheduled to face heightened security, as CJP leaders were expected to arrive in Delhi at about 10.15 am.
According to the deployment plan reported by The Indian Express, the first shift at sensitive locations included police inspectors, platoons and sections of male and female personnel. Additional forces and reserves were kept available for reinforcement, with arrangements organised across shifts to maintain a continuous presence through the day and night.
Inter-district border pickets were established between Central and New Delhi districts, as well as at connecting points involving South, South-East and South-West Delhi. The measures were intended to regulate movement between districts and prevent the gathering from developing into what police described as a serious law-and-order situation.
Access was also expected to be difficult in areas close to central Delhi. On Ashoka Road and Tolstoy Road, which are within walking distance of the New Delhi area, 10 barricades were placed and more than 30 paramilitary personnel deployed, according to the report.
The concentration of detentions in South East Delhi and the heavy security presence at district borders meant that the protest preparations affected both public movement and policing arrangements well beyond the proposed demonstration site. The police’s next steps were to continue the deployment, manage entry points and hold the detainees at the designated district detention centres during the protest period.
