At least 100 protesters were detained in Bengaluru on Monday after they attempted to march from K.R. Circle to the office of Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand electoral reforms. The Hindu reported that students, lawyers and women protesters were allegedly manhandled, while journalists covering the demonstration were threatened and three photographers were allegedly pushed despite identifying themselves as members of the Press.
The protesters, organised by Left student and youth groups from across Karnataka, had assembled near K.R. Circle, located a few metres from the CEO’s office. They planned to submit a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer Gyanesh Kumar but were detained before they could march to the office. Senior journalist and activist Aakar Patel was also among those detained, according to the report.
The groups were protesting the Delhi Police’s treatment of demonstrators opposing the SIR exercise and said they had lost faith in the revision process. In their memorandum, they alleged that the exercise could result in denial of voting rights, arbitrary deletion of names and procedural irregularities. They also cited a lack of transparency and accountability in the handling of the electoral-roll revision.
The protesters demanded the cancellation of the SIR, the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, restoration of the January 2025 electoral rolls and safeguards against arbitrary deletions in future revisions. They also questioned why Electoral Registration Officers had not filed complaints in cases where first information reports had allegedly been registered over bulk submissions of Form 7 applications.
Akshay M. Hakay, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, said the group had assembled near K.R. Circle without permission or prior intimation. He said this was contrary to High Court directions requiring protests to be held at designated locations. According to Mr. Hakay, police personnel initially asked the protesters to relocate to Freedom Park, but they refused and were taken into preventive custody before being released.
The DCP said the police acted with restraint and sensitivity. A senior police officer, however, acknowledged that the force had been taken by surprise because it had not been informed about the protest. He said Freedom Park was the designated protest site and that the police were therefore required to detain those demonstrating outside it. The officer also said most of the personnel deployed were men because the police had not been aware of the gathering in advance.
The Hindu reported that several protesters, most of them students, were forcibly pushed into buses. Male police personnel were seen forcing women protesters into buses, with police officers arguing that the protesters would return if released. The report also said police threatened journalists at the spot and ordered them to leave while the demonstration was being covered.
The protest organisations had planned similar marches to the offices of Deputy Commissioners in other Karnataka districts. They said they would continue protesting until the Chief Election Commissioner resigned. The immediate dispute now centres on the handling of demonstrations near government offices, the enforcement of designated protest locations and the safeguards available to voters during the SIR process.
