Jantar Mantar protests escalated in Delhi after representatives of the CJP breached barricades and entered the restricted demonstration site on Tuesday, prompting police to detain 14 people and register a case for alleged trespassing. The incident came amid continuing disputes over access to the central protest venue and scattered demonstrations across the capital.
According to the report, the protesters jumped over locked gates at Jantar Mantar, unfurled the Tricolour and raised slogans before security personnel moved in. A video cited in the report shows a group running towards a gate and entering the site before being detained. Among those taken into custody were CJP representatives Ashutosh Ranka, Sourav Das and Ajinkya Shinde.
Delhi Police filed a first information report against the organisation for trespassing. Police officials said the detained people were generally released within 24 hours and maintained that due legal procedures had been followed. The report also said that Dipke, Ranka and Das were preventively arrested under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The three were produced before a special executive magistrate’s court at Delhi Cantonment on October 11 and were released after furnishing surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each. The court required them to maintain peace and good behaviour for one year, according to the report.
The detention also triggered a dispute over access to legal counsel. CJP members alleged that police had prevented lawyers from meeting detained protesters. A senior police officer, however, said there was no provision allowing detained persons to meet lawyers during the detention period and referred to Section 38 of the BNSS, which grants an arrested person the right to meet an advocate of their choice during police interrogation.
Other protest activity continued in Delhi. National Students’ Union of India members held a flash demonstration near Connaught Place demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. An NSUI member alleged that more than 100 people were detained and taken to locations outside central Delhi. The member also alleged that a female protester was assaulted during transportation, but the allegation could not be independently verified.
The Krantikari Yuva Sangathan held another agitation at Central Park, where protesters said they would use public places for demonstrations. Those protesters were detained at about 7 pm, the report said.
The security response has also extended beyond Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police has asked the Union home ministry to retain the deployment of more than 250 companies of security personnel in the capital until October 20, citing festive-season security requirements. Police sources indicated that the request may also be linked to the possibility of further demonstrations at sensitive locations, including the Election Commission, Parliament House and India Gate.
The latest events leave Jantar Mantar at the centre of a continuing contest between the administration’s restrictions on public demonstrations and protest groups seeking access to the venue. Police have flagged further security concerns, while CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has warned that demonstrations could spread to other public locations if protests at Jantar Mantar remain prohibited.
