Delhi’s planned protest at Jantar Mantar was effectively blocked on Saturday as police deployed across Central Delhi, closed 45 metro stations, checked vehicles at city borders and detained hundreds of people attempting to reach the site.
The protest was called by the Cockroach Janta Party, the All India Students’ Association and other groups. By 1.30 pm, no protesters had reached Jantar Mantar, according to the report. Heavy police and Central Armed Police Forces deployment was concentrated around Parliament Street, Connaught Place and surrounding routes.
Around 2,000 to 3,000 police and CAPF personnel were gathered near Parliament Street police station, with roughly 100 personnel positioned at each layer of barricading. Roads around Sansad Marg, Connaught Place and Jantar Mantar had been barricaded from 9 am, while vehicles were diverted away from the area.
Police said around 270 people who had entered the area overnight had been detained. This included approximately 70 people detained outside Gurudwara Bangla Sahib after they left the premises, where they had stayed ahead of the protest. The reported detentions came as security personnel waited outside the gurudwara through the morning.
The restrictions also disrupted public transport access. The closest operational metro stations included Patel Nagar and Yamuna Bank, from where the protest site was between roughly one-and-a-half and two hours away on foot. At Patel Nagar, more than a dozen CISF personnel were deployed inside the station and about 20 police personnel were stationed outside.
Auto-rickshaw drivers near Patel Nagar were reportedly refusing trips towards Connaught Place because of the barricades. Shared e-rickshaws charged around Rs. 100 per passenger for a five-kilometre journey, with drivers saying they had to take longer routes around blocked roads. At Yamuna Bank, shared autos were charging Rs. 100 to Barakhamba Road, still leaving passengers about two kilometres from Jantar Mantar.
Passengers also reported difficulties booking cabs. One protester travelling from Noida said several cab bookings were initially accepted but later cancelled. At Barakhamba Road, metro gates did not open for passengers, prompting him to return to Yamuna Bank. Police had also erected barricades outside Akshardham station and stopped vehicles carrying young passengers to ask about their destinations.
Checks extended to the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. At Chilla, Delhi Police, Noida Police and the Border Security Force stopped and inspected commercial buses. A traffic police officer said the checks were intended to identify large groups travelling towards Delhi and that nearby parks were also being monitored for people who had stayed overnight before attempting to reach the city.
Police personnel checked passenger lists on mobile phones, questioned individual travellers about their destinations and stopped commercial four-wheelers because protesters could use app-based taxi services. Shared commercial vehicles were stopped at the DND flyway and belongings were checked. The report also said that some private and commercial vehicles carrying young and middle-aged men were asked to produce Aadhaar cards.
The police deployment and transport restrictions remained in place as authorities worked to prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar, the announced protest site.
