Delhi Police protest restrictions remained in force across parts of New Delhi on Sunday as the Cockroach Janta Party called for another demonstration at Jantar Mantar, with authorities warning that groups of five or more could be detained and major roads near Parliament Street continuing to be sealed.
The restrictions followed a protest call demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. More than 40,000 police personnel were deployed across Delhi on Saturday, while over 7,000 people were detained by the end of the day, according to The Indian Express.
Police said around 30,000 personnel, supported by 200 companies of paramilitary forces, would remain deployed on Sunday. The arrangements were made after the party announced a fresh ‘Chalo Jantar Mantar’ protest for 10 am, following the detention of several of its leaders and supporters.
Restrictions eased slightly on Sunday morning compared with Saturday. Police were not checking every vehicle within a 10-kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar, and traffic had begun moving more freely on roads including Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Minto Road and Vande Mataram Marg. However, key roads connecting to Parliament Street, including Ashoka Road, Tolstoy Road and Janpath, remained sealed.
People without identification cards were not allowed into the restricted areas. Buses used for detaining protesters were stationed in the area, although fewer were visible than on Saturday. Streets near Palika Bazaar and Hanuman Mandir, including Baba Kharak Singh Marg and the inner circle of Connaught Place, remained largely deserted.
A senior police officer told The Indian Express that anyone organising a protest in the New Delhi area would be detained. Police also said they expected fewer people near Connaught Place on Sunday but would maintain heightened vigilance around Dilli Haat and Gole Market, where flash protests had taken place the previous day.
The security measures followed disruptions after protesters were unable to reach the fortified Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Groups subsequently broke away and held smaller demonstrations at different locations across the city during the afternoon and evening.
The Cockroach Janta Party’s national organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, had announced the Sunday protest in a post on X. He said the party had gone to Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that the government had detained party leaders, student leaders and volunteers. The allegations were made by Shinde in the post and were not independently established in the report.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained after arriving at Delhi airport, according to the report. The continuation of road closures, identity checks, detentions and large-scale deployment was expected to affect access to central Delhi, including commercial areas and roads used by daily commuters, while police maintained restrictions around the protest site.
