Delhi witnessed a wider mobile internet shutdown than previously reported during security arrangements for a proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, with services suspended for 10 hours around eight stadiums and community centres being used as temporary detention centres.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs ordered the suspension within a 500-metre radius of the facilities from noon to 10 p.m. on October 10. The order, issued on October 9 by the Union Home Secretary, cited public safety, the prevention of a public emergency and the need to maintain public order and avert incitement to offences.
The restrictions applied to all mobile internet technologies around Chhatrasaal Stadium in Model Town, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana, Yamuna Sports Complex, Jasola Sports Complex, Community Centre in Daulatpur, Community Centre in Pandwala Khurd, Jangli Ram Stadium in Nizampur, and Surajmal Stadium in Nangloi. The order was addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police, for implementation.
Delhi Police had converted the venues into temporary holding facilities as part of preparations to prevent protesters from assembling at Jantar Mantar. Around 2,500 protesters were detained from different parts of the city and taken to the designated centres before being released later in the day, according to the report.
The security operation was linked to a proposed protest seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Political leaders, students and social activists were among those detained during the wider arrangements in the Capital.
The suspension was imposed under the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024. The order stated that the restrictions were necessary “in the interest of public safety and averting public emergency” and to maintain public order.
The use of sports complexes and community centres as temporary detention sites extended the operational footprint of the protest response beyond Jantar Mantar. The mobile internet restrictions also covered areas surrounding those facilities, rather than being limited to the principal protest location. The order specified that the service suspension would end at 10 p.m. on October 10, after which the temporary restrictions were scheduled to lapse.
