Arvind Kejriwal was detained by the Delhi Police outside his residence in Lodhi Estate on October 10 while he was travelling to join an Aam Aadmi Party protest at Jantar Mantar, according to The Hindu. The demonstration was seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of “vote theft”.
The former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener was shown inside a police bus alongside AAP MP Sanjay Jha in a video shared on X. In the video, Mr. Kejriwal urged people to come out in large numbers and support the protest. The detention took place as the party’s senior leadership gathered for the demonstration in central Delhi.
The protest followed Mr. Kejriwal’s statement on October 9 that he and his family would attend the demonstration. He had also appealed to young people to join the protest and demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner over the allegations raised by the party.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr. Kejriwal criticised what he described as a security clampdown in central Delhi intended to prevent the protest. In a post cited by The Hindu, he called the restrictions “worse than Emergency”. The report did not include a separate Delhi Police statement explaining the grounds or duration of the detention.
AAP leader Atishi Marlena said in a post on X that Mr. Kejriwal had been taken into custody for demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation. She also referred to the detention of senior party leaders. The Hindu reported that Mr. Kejriwal later reacted to the detention of party leaders, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “scared” and referring to the leaders as “cockroaches” being arrested on their way to the protest.
The episode brought together questions of political assembly, policing and access to one of central Delhi’s designated protest locations. Jantar Mantar has traditionally been used for demonstrations, while the movement of political leaders and crowds through the surrounding government district is subject to police regulation. The available report did not specify the number of people detained, the legal provisions used or whether the protest was permitted to proceed.
The immediate next steps were expected to depend on the police action against Mr. Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, as well as the party’s planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The Hindu’s report did not provide a release time or a further official statement from the Delhi Police by the time of publication.
