At least 100 people were detained in Bengaluru on Monday after police stopped a planned march to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with protesters and journalists alleging manhandling and intimidation during the crackdown.
The protesters, including students, lawyers and women, had assembled near K.R. Circle, a few metres from the CEO’s office, to submit a memorandum. They were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, cancellation of the SIR exercise and safeguards against arbitrary deletions from electoral rolls.
According to the report, several protesters were forcibly pushed into buses, while male police personnel were seen forcing women protesters into vehicles. Many of the police personnel involved were not in uniform. Senior journalist and activist Aakar Patel was also detained. Journalists covering the protest were allegedly threatened and ordered to leave, while three photographers were manhandled despite identifying themselves as members of the Press.
A senior police officer defended the action, saying the force had been taken by surprise because it had not been informed about the protest. The officer said Freedom Park was the city’s designated protest site and that police were therefore required to detain those protesting outside it. The officer also acknowledged that the police team consisted mostly of male personnel because the department had not been aware of the gathering in advance.
Akshay M. Hakay, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Division, said the protesters had assembled near K.R. Circle without permission or prior intimation. “This is in contrary to the High Court’s directions of protesting at designated places. Initially, they were requested to relocate to Freedom Park, but they did not comply and hence, were taken into preventive custody in accordance with law, and subsequently released,” he said. Hakay added that the police had acted with “due restraint and sensitivity”.
The protest was organised by Left student and youth organisations from across Karnataka, which had planned marches to the CEO’s office in Bengaluru and to Deputy Commissioners’ offices in other districts. In their memorandum, the groups said they had lost faith in the SIR process, alleging denial of voting rights, arbitrary deletion of names, procedural irregularities and inadequate transparency and accountability.
The groups also questioned the handling of cases involving bulk filing of Form 7 applications, asking why Electoral Registration Officers had not filed complaints. Their demands include restoring the January 2025 electoral rolls, cancelling the SIR exercise, securing the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and introducing safeguards against arbitrary deletions in future revisions.
The organisations said they would continue their protests until the Chief Election Commissioner resigns. The detained protesters were subsequently released, according to the police account.
