More than 1,000 people were detained across Delhi ahead of a planned protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to a report citing police officials, as security was strengthened around the protest site, transport hubs and border areas.
The detentions were carried out late on Friday and on Saturday morning to prevent people from gathering and to maintain law and order, the report said. Police action was reported in several districts, including areas near Delhi’s borders, railway stations, bus stops and the airport.
A senior police official said South-East Delhi police detained more than 250 people after identifying individuals believed to be associated with the proposed protest in and around Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar. More than 100 people were also detained in East and North-East Delhi, according to the report.
The planned demonstration was scheduled to take place at Jantar Mantar on October 10. The area around the protest venue was placed under restrictions on assembly under Section 163, according to the report. The measures were intended to prevent a large gathering and limit possible disruption around the central Delhi protest zone.
The report said members of the organisation identified as the Cockroach Janata Party were expected to reach Delhi for the protest. Party co-convenor Saurav Das had said on X that members would arrive in the capital on Saturday. Security was also increased outside the airport ahead of their arrival.
The scale of the deployment extended beyond the protest venue. The report said around 20,000 Delhi Police personnel and 23,000 Central Armed Police Forces personnel were deployed at Jantar Mantar and nearby areas. Police and security forces were positioned to regulate access to the protest site and prevent gatherings in restricted areas.
Abhijeet Deepak, who had announced on X that he would land in Delhi at 9.30 am, criticised the preventive action. In a post quoted in the report, he said the detentions and the restrictions showed that the government was afraid of the protesters. The statement is a political allegation and was not independently established in the supplied report.
The reported detentions and deployment are part of a wider law-and-order operation around a planned political protest. The information available in the report does not establish how many people were formally arrested, how long those detained were held or whether charges were filed against them. It also does not provide details of any court order or official written notification governing the restrictions.
The next developments will depend on whether the planned gathering takes place at Jantar Mantar, how access to the protest venue is regulated and whether police issue further information about those detained.
