More than 2,000 people, including Opposition leaders, activists and prominent YouTubers, were detained in Delhi on Saturday as police moved to prevent a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, The Indian Express reported.
Most of those detained were picked up before reaching the planned protest site in central Delhi. According to the report, they were taken in buses and vans to stadiums and other makeshift detention centres as Delhi Police mounted a large security operation across the capital.
The protest was called by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The mobilisation followed an investigation by The Indian Express that reported a rupture within the Election Commission over changes led by Gyanesh Kumar.
The scale of the police deployment reflected the authorities’ concern over a repeat of the disruption seen in July, when nearly one lakh protesters threatened to converge on Parliament. That episode produced scenes of intense disorder in the capital and dominated television and social media coverage for several days, according to the report.
Saturday’s operation affected more than the planned protest area. By detaining people while they were still travelling towards Jantar Mantar, the police action sought to prevent a large gathering from forming in central Delhi. The reported use of buses, vans, stadiums and other temporary detention locations also turned the city’s transport and public spaces into part of the enforcement operation.
Delhi Police reports to the Central government, and its response placed the administration of public assembly at the centre of the day’s events. The detentions included Opposition leaders and other high-profile participants, alongside activists and star YouTubers, according to The Indian Express.
The protest was linked to a wider political dispute over the revision of electoral rolls and the role of the Election Commission. The report identified the Special Intensive Revision as the immediate issue behind the mobilisation, while the demand for the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation gave the protest a direct institutional focus.
The events also underscored how quickly a planned demonstration in central Delhi can become a citywide policing exercise. Rather than waiting for protesters to assemble at Jantar Mantar, authorities intervened along the routes leading to the site and moved detainees to designated facilities elsewhere.
The Indian Express published its account as a day-long timeline of the protest and police action. Further developments will depend on the authorities’ handling of those detained and on whether the planned protest or the demands over electoral-roll revision proceed through another public or institutional channel.
