A protest planned for Jantar Mantar shifted to Delhi Haat in the INA area after heavy police barricading prevented demonstrators from reaching the designated protest venue, Live Hindustan – NCR reported on October 10. The change followed the detention of activist Abhijeet Dipke and two associates after they arrived in Delhi by flight, according to the report.
AISA national president Neha Bora announced on social media that Delhi Haat had effectively become the new site of the demonstration. She appealed to people to gather there and began the protest with other AISA workers. Demonstrators were reported to be raising slogans as they moved from Delhi Haat towards Jantar Mantar.
The report said Dipke, along with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, was taken into custody by Delhi Police after arriving in the capital. It did not provide details of the grounds for their detention or indicate how long they would remain in custody.
Bora and other protesters were also detained during the demonstration, according to the report. The group included CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, civil society members and political activist Yogendra Yadav. The report said police were also detaining CPI and other supporters at different locations.
Jantar Mantar is Delhi’s designated protest venue, where demonstrations are subject to police regulation and access controls. The reported barricading and the relocation of the protest to a nearby public destination underline how restrictions around an officially recognised protest space can shift demonstrations into commercial, cultural or transit-linked urban areas. In this case, Delhi Haat became the immediate alternative location identified by the organisers.
The available report does not specify the number of people detained, the police orders governing access to Jantar Mantar, the identity of the issue being protested, or whether any formal permission for the demonstration had been withdrawn. It also does not include a statement from Delhi Police on the detentions or the barricading.
According to the report, the protest was continuing from Delhi Haat, with Bora and other demonstrators moving towards Jantar Mantar while raising slogans. Further details on the detentions, police restrictions and the next steps for the protest were not available in the supplied account.
