Student protesters were detained in Bengaluru on Saturday after attempting to march from Freedom Park towards the Election Commission office, where they were seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The demonstration was organised jointly by the All India Students’ Association, Students’ Federation of India, All India Democratic Students’ Organisation and All India Students’ Federation, according to the organisers. Protesters gathered at Freedom Park and raised slogans demanding that the SIR process be scrapped.
Heavy security was deployed at the site, with hundreds of police personnel present and roads barricaded on both sides, AISA Karnataka said in a statement. The Election Commission office is located a few hundred metres from Freedom Park. The organisation alleged that protesters were detained shortly after attempting to move towards the office and that some were taken into custody after trying to bypass the barricades.
AISA Karnataka condemned the police action and said the detentions raised concerns about their legality. It described the action as a suppression of the right to protest, while demanding that the Karnataka government stop the detentions, release those held and remove the barricades so the demonstration could proceed peacefully.
The organisation also called on the state government to open all spaces within Freedom Park that it said had remained barricaded for the past five years. It argued that citizens should be able to use the designated protest space without intimidation or obstruction.
Freedom Park is one of Bengaluru’s principal designated spaces for public demonstrations, making the police arrangements and access restrictions central to the organisers’ objections. The incident also places renewed focus on how authorities manage protests in central urban areas, where a short march can affect nearby roads, public security arrangements and access to government offices.
The report did not specify the number of protesters detained, the legal provisions used for the detentions or whether those taken into custody had been released. It also did not include a response from the Bengaluru City Police, the Karnataka government or the Election Commission to the allegations made by the student organisations.
The student groups’ demands include the withdrawal of the SIR process, the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and an end to restrictions at Freedom Park. Further developments will depend on the police and state authorities’ response to the detentions and the organisers’ demands.
