New Delhi, Oct 2 (PTI) Delhi Police detained nearly 1,000 people, including political leaders and activists of various student and civil society organisations, during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar on Friday.
Many of the protesters, who gathered to demand Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and mass deletion of voters, were later released.
No permission was granted for the protest. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the New Delhi district. Around 5,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across the Lutyens’ zone and surrounding areas. More than 10 companies of paramilitary forces were brought in as part of the security arrangements.
In New Delhi, police detained several people from areas around Kerala House and Ashoka Road roundabout and took them to different police stations across the city.
Among those detained were AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi, Sanjay Singh, Kuldeep Kumar, Jarnail Singh and Sanjeev Jha, AISA national president Neha Bora, civil society activist Yogendra Yadav, RJD MP Manoj Jha, CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandesh, AISA national general secretary Prasenjeet Kumar, Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib, NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar and DYFI national president A A Rahim, according to information available on the day’s police action.
AAP leaders Atishi, Anurag Dhanda and Kuldeep Kumar were taken to Fatehpur Beri police station, while party leaders Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Sanjeev Jha were taken to Dwarka Sector 23 police station.
Other detainees were taken to Karawal Nagar, Badarpur and other police stations.
Several of them were released later, at different times.
In an X post, Sanjay Singh shared a video, which showed him walking out of a police station, along with Saurabh Bharadwaj and Jarnail Singh.
Earlier in the day, police said more than 700 protesters were detained from Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas. The number later rose to nearly 1,000 as the day’s action continued, according to police sources.
Heavy Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel deployment was made in the Lutyens’ zone in view of the protest.
Barricades were put up at Jantar Mantar and several surrounding roads to stop the protesters. Police also used drones to monitor sensitive and crowded locations and deployed additional personnel whenever the number of protesters increased at any particular spot.
Police sources said they had received inputs about 4,000 to 5,000 people potentially gathering in the area and made arrangements accordingly.
Several people were also detained in different districts, while police tried to prevent large groups from assembling.
The security strategy included taking protesters demonstrating in groups away in buses, while people standing alone or in very small groups were not immediately removed. Some detained students were seen climbing out of bus windows and returning to the protest, following which they were taken back into the buses.
The protest was attended by students as well as elderly people.
The presence of Sashastra Seema Bal personnel was more visible than that of the Rapid Action Force during the operation. The paramilitary personnel deployed at the spot were not seen carrying batons and were seen talking to protesters and escorting them to buses.
There were minor scuffles at some places as police stopped protesters, during which some police personnel suffered minor injuries, according to sources.
Police officials said the entire protest and the locations where people gathered were videographed and personnel were directed to preserve the footage.
Several videos allegedly showing police personnel assaulting protesters also surfaced on social media. Officials said the authenticity of the videos, the identity of the personnel shown in them and the locations where the incidents took place were being verified.
Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, along with senior officers, reviewed the security arrangements at Jantar Mantar. A detailed report on the protest was also submitted to the commissioner, sources said.
Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was imposed ahead of the protest, prohibiting unauthorised assemblies, processions, sit-ins and sloganeering in the area. Restrictions were also imposed on carrying sticks, batons, swords and spears.
Security personnel were deployed at the Delhi borders adjoining Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, and several buses and four-wheelers were stopped as police sought to prevent protesters from entering the capital, according to sources.
The Delhi Police had also issued a traffic advisory on social media a day before the protest, asking commuters to check the advisory before travelling towards the Lutyens’ zone and follow diversion signs and instructions from traffic personnel.
The restrictions led to congestion and diversions on several roads, including routes towards Barakhamba Road, Hailey Road, Patel Chowk, GPO, Tolstoy Marg, Jantar Mantar Road, Parliament Street and Ashoka Road.
Internet services were also suspended in the area as part of the security measures, while entry and exit at several Metro stations around Jantar Mantar were temporarily closed. Police said the restrictions were imposed in view of security and crowd-management concerns. PTI SSJ RUK
RUK
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