New Delhi: After members of the Cockroach Janta Party alleged that those attending their ongoing Jantar Mantar protest were asked for their Aadhaar card details by the Delhi Police, the latter denied the allegations.
On Monday, founder Abhijeet Dipke released video footage on X where he is seen speaking to Delhi Police personnel. “Yesterday, people who were distributing water and food at the protest were being asked for their Aadhaar and PAN card details. If somebody has to come to Jantar Mantar, do they need to bring a visa now?” he asked the police.
“Now, if any police officer asks any protester for an Aadhar card to enter the protest site, please let me know,” he is seen telling the protesters while police stand guard. “These are all citizens of the country,” he adds. When a police officer asks Dipke how many people were stopped, he says, “many”.
He also brings forward one of the protesters, who says, “I have a photo of my Aadhaar and the police checked it.”
Why does the Delhi Police need Aadhaar cards from people who want to join a protest?
Since when did an Aadhaar card become mandatory to participate in a protest?
Do they also ask for Aadhaar cards at BJP’s political rallies?
Police is using Aadhaar card as an excuse to turn… pic.twitter.com/g54HorouAb
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) June 22, 2026
The Delhi Police, in response, posted on X: “This information is factually incorrect. Delhi Police is neither conducting Aadhaar card checks nor collecting Aadhaar or address details of any person at Jantar Mantar.”
A senior police officer from the New Delhi district of the Delhi Police, who oversaw security around the Jantar Mantar area, called the allegations baseless. “Police have not asked any protester for Aadhaar cards. We only frisk and conduct security checks to ensure miscreants are kept away. If anybody was asked by the police for Aadhaar cards, we request them to come forward and we will look into the requests,” he told ThePrint, not wanting to be named.
‘CJP volunteers asked for Aadhaar at behest of police’
Nitish Kumar, 26, a PhD student from Jawaharlal Nehru University has attended multiple protests since he has lived in Delhi. On Sunday noon, when he came to the Jantar Mantar protest site to take part in the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest, he alleges he was asked for his Aadhaar card.
The CJP has been protesting for the past several weeks demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. At Jantar Mantar, the sit-in over NEET-UG irregularities has entered its third day.
Kumar told ThePrint that he reached the protest site at 4 pm, and when he was crossing the barricades, volunteers of CJP asked him to show his Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID, “at behest of Delhi Police”. They did not ask for names or phone numbers, only Aadhaar cards, he said, adding that those who did not have a physical copy were told to show it on their mobile phones.
Many protesters, who claimed to have been asked for Aadhaar, then went ahead and told Abhijeet Dipke, CJP founder, about their concerns.
Another JNU student, Gulam, reached the protest site on Saturday afternoon, when it was crowded. “When we attempted to get inside, the volunteers asked us for Aadhar cards. The police stood by the side, but did not ask us.”
“Why does the Delhi Police need Aadhaar cards from people who want to join a protest? Since when did an Aadhaar card become mandatory to participate in a protest? Do they also ask for Aadhaar cards at BJP’s political rallies? Police are using Aadhaar cards as an excuse to turn people away from Jantar Mantar,” Dipke said in a post on X.
Ahead of the CJP’s 6 June protest, several students from north, northwest and southwest Delhi claimed they had been asked by Delhi Police if they were attending the first protest organised by the CJP. Students also alleged they were briefly detained, even as police denied these allegations.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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