A Delhi protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s handling of electoral-roll revision triggered a major security clampdown on Saturday, with political leaders, activists, lawyers and content creators detained at multiple locations and restrictions disrupting metro services and road movement across the capital.
The Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, had planned a demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the handling of Form 6, used to register new voters. Delhi Police denied permission for the protest, citing security concerns and the timing of the application, which was submitted on October 7 despite a prescribed 10-day notice period.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, along with Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, was detained inside an aircraft after arriving in Delhi for the demonstration, according to the report. Dipke was later given the option of remaining in detention or travelling to Maharashtra after the death of his 85-year-old grandmother, Savitribai Shankar Dipke. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained from his residence in Gurugram, while Ratna Singh, the party’s legal affairs head, was also reported detained.
As access to Jantar Mantar became difficult, activists attempted to march towards Dilli Haat. AISA leader Neha Bora, activist Yogendra Yadav and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan were detained during the march. Students and lawyers were also detained at different locations. Adarsh M Saji, national president of the Students’ Federation of India, told PTI that more than 400 members had been detained after beginning their march around 10 am.
The Supreme Court Bar Association sought the intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant over concerns about the detention of young lawyers, including women advocates. It called for their safety and the release of those against whom there were no lawful grounds for detention. Aishe Ghosh was among those reported detained near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib.
The detentions extended beyond the protest’s immediate organising group. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and party leaders Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Pratima Mondal were detained outside Banerjee’s Delhi residence. Banerjee had earlier staged a protest near the South Avenue bus stand, alleging that she was not being allowed to move from the area. Former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and former Kerala finance minister K N Balagopal were also reported detained near Jantar Mantar Road.
Delhi Police established barricades and checkpoints on roads leading to the protest area, while thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed. Restrictions affected more than 40 metro stations, and over 250 trains had reportedly been cancelled until 2 pm. Police also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in parts of the capital.
According to police sources cited in the report, around 1,200 people had been detained overnight. Police later said approximately 500 people arriving in groups were detained during the morning, with the total figure rising to more than 2,000 by around 3 pm. The disruption affected commuters and movement through central Delhi as the authorities sought to prevent the demonstration from assembling at Jantar Mantar.
The political dispute centres on allegations by the CJP and its supporters that the voter-verification exercise and the handling of Form 6 could involve manipulation of electoral rolls. The Election Commission has defended the exercise, while the Bharatiya Janata Party has rejected allegations that it was designed to benefit the ruling party. These claims remain contested.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court seeking contempt proceedings over alleged violations of a court direction concerning movement on October 10. The legal challenge and the Supreme Court Bar Association’s intervention request are the next reported steps in the dispute over the detentions and restrictions.
