More than 100 cadres of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and All India Youth Federation (AIYF) were arrested by Chennai police on October 10 while attempting to march to the Tamil Nadu Secretariat to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A separate group of about 40 protesters was detained at Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar after police said it had not obtained permission for a demonstration.
The AISF and AIYF protesters assembled near the Periyar statue on Anna Salai and moved towards Sivananda Salai, intending to reach the Secretariat and lay siege to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu. Police stopped the procession and prevented it from moving further. The protesters were subsequently taken to a community hall after heated arguments and resistance during the arrests.
Led by AIYF State secretary K. Bharathi and AISF State president K. Ibrahim, the protesters demanded the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner and called for criminal proceedings and other action against him. They accused the CEC of orchestrating “vote theft” and alleged that the Narendra Modi-led Union government was supporting those accused of stealing votes.
The protesters raised slogans including “Our vote, our right!” and “Do not steal our right to vote!” During the scuffle near Anna Salai, Kavin, a protester from Mylapore, sustained a head injury and was taken to hospital for treatment. The report did not provide details of the nature or severity of the injury.
At Elliot’s Beach, the group of around 40 protesters included advocate Ra. Shhiva and social activists Sachin George and Radhika Ganesh. They demanded the withdrawal of a legal provision that they described as granting “life-long immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner”. They also called for the suspension of the SIR exercise and demanded the CEC’s resignation.
Police spoke to the Besant Nagar protesters but said the discussions failed to resolve the situation. According to the police, the group had not secured permission to hold the demonstration at the beach. When the protesters declined to leave, officers detained them and took them to the Urur Kuppam Corporation Community Hall. Arguments and scuffles broke out as the police attempted to clear the area, while some protesters lay on the ground and continued chanting.
The arrests and detentions brought political intervention at the community hall. DMK leaders A. Raja, Ma. Subramanian and Thamizhachi Thangapandian, along with party supporters, reached the venue and staged a dharna demanding the immediate release of the protesters. The protesters were released by the police around noon, according to the report.
The incidents brought two of Chennai’s prominent public spaces—Anna Salai and Elliot’s Beach—into focus as locations for political assembly and police regulation. The report did not specify whether cases were registered against the protesters or whether further demonstrations were planned. The police’s stated position was that the Besant Nagar gathering lacked permission, while the protesters continued to demand action against the Chief Election Commissioner and changes to the legal and electoral measures they opposed.
