Delhi protest train cancellations and passenger deboarding in Madhya Pradesh disrupted travel plans on Friday as authorities intensified security measures ahead of a proposed demonstration at Jantar Mantar on October 10.
Madhya Pradesh Police took 15 students from a Pune university, including three women, off a train at Itarsi railway station on Thursday while they were travelling to Delhi for the Cockroach Janata Party protest. The students were taken to a resort in Itarsi, where officials said they were accommodated and served breakfast before arrangements were made for their return.
Some of the students alleged that they were manhandled and intimidated and that their democratic rights had been curtailed. Officials denied the allegations. Authorities had not officially clarified the order under which the students were stopped, why they were prevented from continuing to Delhi or the legal basis for arranging their return. An activist also alleged that no woman police officer was present during the action.
The students said they planned to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. After being stopped at Itarsi, they raised slogans at the station against the Chief Election Commissioner and the Prime Minister.
In a separate incident, four passengers travelling from Hyderabad to Delhi on the Telangana Express were deboarded at Bhopal railway station at about 9.45 pm on Thursday. Senior Government Railway Police officials said the passengers were served notices under Section 172 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and detained after inputs that their activities could affect law and order. They were later handed over to local police. Their current status had not been confirmed.
The railway action affected passengers beyond those travelling for the protest. Indian Railways cancelled several Mail and Express services bound for Delhi from the Bhopal, Jabalpur and Kota divisions of the West Central Railway zone. Railway sources said trains scheduled to leave after 2 pm on Friday and reach New Delhi after 4 am on Saturday were cancelled at their originating stations. The measures covered trains bound for New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin.
Friday’s Bhopal Express from Rani Kamlapati station was officially cancelled. The Vande Bharat Express scheduled to leave Rani Kamlapati on Saturday was also likely to be cancelled, while further services could be withdrawn depending on the security situation. Officials attributed the cancellations to anticipated congestion and operational constraints around Delhi’s two major railway stations.
Delhi Police had denied permission for the proposed Jantar Mantar demonstration, citing the short notice, public safety, law-and-order concerns and traffic regulation. The organisers planned to protest over alleged “vote theft” and seek accountability from the Chief Election Commissioner. Security agencies also recommended possible restrictions at 57 Delhi Metro stations from Friday night until the situation normalised.
The measures placed railway and metro operations at the centre of the security response, affecting both demonstrators and ordinary passengers. Further train cancellations and metro restrictions were to depend on the security situation around the proposed demonstration.
