Delhi Police detained leaders and supporters linked to the proposed Cockroach Janata Party protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10, while extensive security restrictions disrupted metro services, trains, buses, road movement and internet access across the capital, according to a report by Jagran.
The protest had been called to oppose the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Police began detaining leaders in the morning, including Dhruv Rathee and Ratna Singh at their homes in Gurugram. CJP coordinator Abhijit Deepke, along with Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were also detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport, the report said.
Leaders and supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party, left organisations and student groups also attempted to demonstrate at different locations in the New Delhi district. Jagran reported minor scuffles and pushing between protesters and police, after which several people were detained. Nupur Prasad, joint commissioner of police for the New Delhi range, said there had been physical clashes at some locations and that some barricades were brought down. She said law and order remained under control, with no reports of rioting, vandalism or arson.
The restrictions extended beyond Jantar Mantar. Police placed barricades across New Delhi and reportedly detained groups of 10 to 15 people who gathered in public spaces. Officers also conducted checks at Delhi’s borders and at railway stations to prevent protesters from neighbouring states from reaching the capital.
Long-distance trains arriving in Delhi were reportedly delayed by two to four hours after the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force questioned passengers at stations in neighbouring states. Buses travelling towards Delhi were checked by police in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, while vehicles entering the capital faced intensive inspections.
Forty-five metro stations were closed as part of the security arrangements, according to the report. Express and local train services were also affected, bus operations were limited and more than 30 routes were diverted. Internet services were suspended in New Delhi, while markets remained closed. Jagran reported that only about 25 per cent of the usual number of people travelled from the National Capital Region into Delhi on Saturday, with most arrivals being people who needed to reach the city for work.
The transport and communications restrictions meant that the response to a proposed demonstration affected residents well beyond the planned protest venue. Commuters, railway passengers, inter-state bus users and businesses in central Delhi faced changes to ordinary movement and operations even though the protest did not take place at Jantar Mantar.
Police maintained that the measures kept the situation under control. The report did not provide details on when the detained leaders and supporters would be released, when internet services would be restored or when the closed metro stations and diverted routes would return to normal.
