Hundreds of Cockroach Janta Party volunteers, along with other citizens and workers, were taken from multiple locations across Delhi to Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town on October 10, where they were being held amid a wider security clampdown, according to people present at the venue and a report by The Hindu Bureau.
Buses carrying the group were taken directly into the stadium premises. Hours after people began arriving, no formal administrative process had started, leaving many waiting inside the ground, the report said. The use of a major public sports facility as a temporary holding location placed the stadium at the centre of the day’s security arrangements.
Those inside the venue said security personnel were primarily carrying out transit and guarding duties. They also said force was used to prevent people from moving, running or mobilising in groups within the stadium. No physical beatings were reported by those present, according to the report.
Slogans continued to be raised periodically inside the stadium. Vijay Mallangi, one of those held, said the group was being silenced by the system but that the detention would not weaken its resolve. His remarks were reported in the context of the security clampdown and the presence of CJP volunteers among those brought to the venue.
The people taken to Chhatrasal Stadium had been brought from multiple locations across Delhi rather than assembled at the sports complex from the outset. The movement of groups by bus and their direct transfer into the stadium premises indicates that the facility was being used as a controlled transit and holding location during the operation.
The report did not specify the total number of people inside the stadium, the legal basis for their detention, the duration of their stay or whether formal notices had been issued. It also did not include a response from the Delhi Police or another administrative authority explaining the operation.
Chhatrasal Stadium is located in Model Town and is ordinarily a public sports facility. Its use as a holding camp has created an immediate administrative question over how public venues are requisitioned during security operations, and what procedures govern the movement, identification and release of people held there. The next official steps, including any formal administrative process or police statement, remain awaited.
