More than 100 people were detained in Delhi on Tuesday as student, youth and political groups marched towards Jantar Mantar, protesting the reported denotification of the site as a protest venue and raising allegations concerning voter rolls and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Two separate demonstrations were held near the central Delhi protest site. Members of the Students’ Federation of India and the Democratic Youth Federation of India marched towards police barricades on Ferozeshah Road at around 1.35 pm. After an attempt to cross the barricades was stopped, the protesters staged a sit-in for about 30 minutes, waving flags, raising slogans and displaying posters.
The protesters shouted slogans including “Jantar Mantar wapas karo” and “Gyanesh Kumar isteefa do”. The Times of India reported that security personnel detained the demonstrators and took them to waiting buses. Among those detained were CPM MPs A A Rahim and V Sivadasan, both from Kerala.
The demonstrations were directed at CEC Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of manipulation of voter rolls, as well as a recent Ministry of Home Affairs order that the protesters said had denotified Jantar Mantar as a protest site. The report did not provide details of the order’s operative provisions or specify whether the denotification was permanent or temporary.
A protester identified as Ayan said the group had stopped fearing detention after repeated instances of what he described as intimidation. Another participant, Rohan, who travelled from Bengaluru, described the demonstration as symbolic and said supporters would continue the agitation. The statements were made during the SFI-DYFI march and were reported by the Times of India.
After the Ferozeshah Road protest was cleared, members of the Indian Youth Congress began a separate march from their office on Raisina Road towards Jantar Mantar. The group was allowed to proceed up to Parliament Street police station. Security personnel then detained the protesters and placed them on buses, according to the report.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were imposed at Parliament Street police station. The provision allows authorities to issue directions intended to prevent obstruction, disturbance or apprehended danger, although the report did not specify the full terms or duration of the order in this instance.
The protesters said the government’s responsibility was to listen to citizens rather than suppress demonstrations. Several participants also linked the mobilisation to what they described as a demand for fair elections. The police action and the restrictions affected access to one of Delhi’s best-known designated protest locations, while the authorities used barricades, detention and prohibitory orders to manage the marches.
The report did not state how long those detained were held, whether formal cases were registered, or whether the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Election Commission issued a response to the protesters’ allegations. Further details on the status of the denotification order and the detentions remain awaited.
