Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Oct 10
Delhi Police detained more than 7000 people across New Delhi on Saturday and deployed tens of thousands of security personnel to prevent a planned protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls.
The crackdown prevented most demonstrators from reaching Jantar Mantar, the capital’s designated protest site, which remained largely deserted despite efforts by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to mobilise supporters against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Those detained included CJP leader Abhijit Dipke, four former chief ministers, opposition politicians, activists and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. Police sources said more than 2,000 people were detained in New Delhi alone.
Security forces erected multiple barricades across central Delhi, while 45 metro stations were closed and checks intensified at border crossings, railway stations, bus terminals, hotels and other sensitive locations. More than 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel were deployed, including personnel from over 120 companies of Central Armed Police Forces.
Opposition leaders compared the restrictions to the Emergency, the period of authoritarian rule imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977.
“This has gone beyond an Emergency; it has become a Super Emergency,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was in Chennai for an event with students, urged young people to continue protesting and said his party would work to defeat the government and those he accused of attacking the Constitution.
Gandhi also described cowardice as a defining characteristic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The Congress, which has separately demanded Kumar’s resignation over allegations of electoral malpractice, maintained its distance from the CJP-organised demonstration.
Former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar were among opposition figures detained at different locations as they attempted to join the protest. Other detainees included Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby, Left leader Brinda Karat, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Liberation) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and All India Students’ Association president Neha.
Police detained Dipke and two CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, aboard their aircraft shortly after it landed in New Delhi from Mumbai.
In a video released by the party, Dipke could be heard telling officers who boarded the aircraft: “We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us.”
Police had informed the leaders that they lacked permission to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar, Dipke said, accusing authorities of treating them like criminals and describing the action as dictatorial.
YouTuber Rathee, who lives abroad and had travelled to join the demonstration, was detained at his residence in Gurugram’s Sector 56, police said.
Kejriwal, who had announced plans to attend the protest with his family, called the security operation worse than the Emergency. Before his detention, he urged young people across the country to travel to Delhi under the slogan “Delhi chalo” and demand Kumar’s resignation over what he described as vote theft.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of turning the “mother of democracy” into a “muzzled democracy”, saying the detentions exposed the cowardice of the BJP and RSS.
Clashes broke out at two locations in central Delhi after demonstrators attempted to cross police barricades.
Around 1 pm, protesters threw stones at security personnel near Akashwani Bhawan on Imtiaz Ali Marg, injuring two police officers, according to the source account. Police detained the demonstrators.
A similar incident occurred near Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place in the evening. Seven security personnel were reported injured during the day’s detention operations, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal, who injured his hand while police detained Left-wing leaders, including Neha.
A senior police officer said authorities were likely to register multiple first information reports over alleged assaults on personnel.
Police also detained demonstrators near Safdarjung Flyover and Kerala House. Officers repeatedly instructed people and journalists near Jantar Mantar not to gather in groups.
Several journalists alleged they had been detained despite displaying their press identity cards. They said police seized their official phones before taking them to detention buses. Images circulating online showed journalists displaying their credentials from inside the vehicles.
Authorities also monitored social media for mobilisation efforts, with more than 200 content creators reportedly under scrutiny. Liquor shops across the capital were closed as a precaution, while restrictions on transport hubs and other locations disrupted movement across the city.
In a recorded message released after his detention, Dipke said CJP organiser Ajinkya Shinde would lead the demonstration at Jantar Mantar. The party said its protests would continue nationwide even without its senior leaders.
Police informed Dipke during his detention that his 85-year-old paternal grandmother, Savitribai Shankarrao Dipke, had died at her home in Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district at around 11:30 a.m. after a prolonged illness. Officers offered to facilitate his travel home on humanitarian grounds, family sources said.
The governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the opposition of attempting to paralyse the capital and described the demonstration as a failure.
BJP leader Sambit Patra called the detentions a victory for democracy over “mob rule” and accused Gandhi of promoting anarchy in coordination with foreign powers, comparing him to Mir Jafar, a historical figure associated with betrayal.
BJP president Nitin Nabin accused Gandhi, Kejriwal and the CJP of seeking to destabilise the country with foreign backing, while Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the capital would not be held hostage.
The BJP organised a series of press conferences to counter the opposition’s criticism.
Police in Mumbai detained around 200 people demonstrating in solidarity with the Delhi protest, officials said.
Members of the organisation Hum Bharat Ke Log, led by activist Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) gathered at August Kranti Maidan without permission. Police detained around 200 participants, and the process of registering a case was underway, an official said.
Gandhi was detained earlier in the day in Mumbai’s Bandra area and taken to D.N. Nagar police station. A crowd gathered outside the station, which was also visited by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray.
Activist Feeroz Mithiborwala was detained at his residence and taken to MIDC police station, while members of the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi were detained during a demonstration near Hutatma Chowk in south Mumbai.
Additional police, including women officers, were deployed at Shivaji Park in Dadar to prevent a CJP demonstration. Security was tightened at other locations across the city.
Police said August Kranti Maidan was not an authorised protest venue under a Bombay High Court order, prompting preventive action to maintain law and order.
The CJP had called the demonstrations over alleged voter-list manipulation during the SIR exercise and changes involving Form 6, which is used to register new voters.
