Delhi Police have detained a man allegedly distributing posters for an October 10 protest at Jantar Mantar and imposed wider preventive measures across the capital, while political and civil society groups have alleged that members are being detained or questioned ahead of the gathering.
The protest has been jointly called by the Cockroach Janta Party and the All India Students’ Association against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Several Opposition parties are also expected to participate. Delhi Police have not granted permission for the event and have cited prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 in Central and New Delhi.
According to police sources cited by The Indian Express, officers received information on Thursday afternoon about people distributing pamphlets outside a college in South Delhi. A Special Cell team reached the location and allegedly found one person carrying pamphlets and posters appealing to people to join the Jantar Mantar protest. The man was taken to a police station for questioning.
Police are also investigating what sources described as a wider effort to print and distribute posters in different parts of Delhi. Local police personnel have reportedly been visiting neighbourhoods and meeting community leaders and peace committee members, asking them to cooperate with the authorities and refrain from attending the gathering, which police have described as illegal.
The preventive measures have prompted allegations from the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, Aam Aadmi Party leaders and Left organisations that security personnel in Delhi and other states are detaining or contacting members to stop them from travelling to the capital. The groups’ claims have not been independently confirmed in the supplied report.
CJP co-convener Saurav Das alleged on X that police personnel entered the South Extension residence of the organisation’s North Zone coordinator, Mohan Yadav, during the night and misbehaved with his wife. Das said the couple’s two children had been traumatised. The allegation was made in a social media post and was not independently verified in the report.
The Students’ Federation of India also shared a video alleging that police personnel carrying lathis arrived at HKS Surjeet Bhawan in New Delhi, where its Central Executive Committee office is located, to search for activists. The organisation alleged that officers attempted to collect information about activists travelling to Delhi for the protest. The video and the allegations were not independently verified in the supplied material.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj separately alleged that Delhi Police were calling party workers and demanding information about their locations, and that workers were being detained in large numbers before the protest. Senior Delhi Police officers told The Indian Express that the force was taking all necessary precautionary measures to prevent untoward incidents on October 10.
The immediate issue for Delhi’s administration is the enforcement of restrictions around a planned political gathering in a high-security central zone. Police action before the event, including questioning, preventive visits and restrictions on mobilisation, is likely to determine how the protest can proceed. The authorities’ stated position is that the gathering would violate the prohibitory orders currently in force in Central and New Delhi.
