Security personnel run towards demonstrators to disperse them during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities, at Connaught Place, in New Delhi, Saturday, October 10. PTI
Delhi protests LIVE | Over 7,000 detained; CJP: Will march to Jantar Mantar again on Sunday
SC to hear special petition tomorrow on Delhi curbs; police go on detention spree to stop anti-CEC protests
Delhi turned into a veritable battle zone—as well as a prison zone for the Opposition—on Saturday (October 10), when several INDIA bloc leaders, including four former chief ministers—TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, CPM veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, and Manik Sarkar, were detained for trying to join the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) anti-CEC protest call at Jantar Mantar.
Apart from Mamata and Pinarayi, Delhi Police have detained over 7,000 people including CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, CJP's Ratna Singh, Sourav Das and many journalists and content creators.
Senior Left leaders like MP John Brittas and MA Baby, along with Pinarayi, were taken to Chhatrasal Stadium briefly before reportedly being driven around in a police jeep, Brittas alleged. They were later taken to Mandir Marg Police Station. Veteran Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and lawyer Prashant Bhushan were also among those detained.
Also read: Meet the faces of India’s Gen Z protest movement
Kejriwal was detained outside his Lodhi Estate residence while marching towards Jantar Mantar with AAP leaders and workers. The party leaders detained with him included Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLA Kuldeep Kumar and national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda. Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai was also detained while protesting at the party office.
Dipke detained from aircraft
Mamata and other TMC MPs were detained from South Avenue, while many journalists trying to cover the protests were allegedly detained along with the Opposition leaders. Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, was reportedly detained in Mumbai.
Also read: ‘Undeclared Emergency’: Opposition leaders slam Modi govt over detentions in Delhi
Dipke's detention was dramatic. A Delhi Police team boarded the aircraft carrying him after it landed in Delhi and detained him. Dipke went live on Instagram as the officers entered the plane. The video shows the police team boarding the flight, and Dipke, along with fellow CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, being detained on board.
A defiant Dipke said CJP's Ajinkya Shinde would lead the Jantar Mantar protest, while AISA chief Neha Bora launched a protest in Dilli Haat along with other activists. Neha was alsod detained soon afterwards. After days of intense protests, Congress was missing in action as Rahul Gandhi left for Chennai for his prescheduled Chhatron ki Goonj event.
Jantar Mantar wears a deserted look
Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, wore a deserted look throughout the day, with the deployment of over 30,000 security personnel and waves of barricades in Lutyens' Delhi to keep the protesters away from the area.
Opposition parties likened the situation to one worse than the Emergency, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi urging the youth to "keep protesting" and asserting that "we are going to ensure that this regime and the people who have attacked the Constitution are defeated".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the Modi government over the detentions by Delhi police, saying it has turned the "mother of democracy" into a "muzzled democracy". The Congress chief alleged that the cowardice of the BJP-RSS is on full display today.
The Congress, which has been holding protests demanding the resignation of the CEC over alleged vote theft, however, maintained its distance from the CJP protest.
CJP to march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow
On Saturday evening, CJP said it was not "backing down" and announced that it will march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow (October 11).
"The Modi government fears that if we unite again, their throne will be at stake. But we’re not backing down. We will march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow and stay there until all our demands are met," CJP said.
Read live updates here.
Live Updates
- 10 Oct 2026 9:52 PM IST
Supreme Court to hear special pleas against violation of order on Delhi restrictions
The Supreme Court will hold a special hearing on Sunday on two petitions over the police action and public transport restrictions during the CJP protests in Delhi.
One seeks contempt proceedings against the government for allegedly violating the court’s directions; the other is a habeas corpus plea challenging the detention of opposition leaders, lawyers and journalists.
- 10 Oct 2026 9:29 PM IST
CJP: No contact with Dipke, Ranka, Das, who have been 'abducted' by Delhi Police
CJP says it has had no contact for 10 hours with its leaders, Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, after they were detained by Delhi Police.
- 10 Oct 2026 9:26 PM IST
CJP: Pranay Ahire in hospital after being 'brutally assaulted' by Delhi Police
CJP claimed that its Mumbai lead Pranay Ahire is in hospital after being "brutally assaulted" by Delhi Police.
- 10 Oct 2026 9:08 PM IST
CJP: 'We are not backing down; we will march to Jantar Mantar again tomorrow'
CJP says they will march to Jantar Mantar tomorrow.
- 10 Oct 2026 9:00 PM IST
Aaditya Thackeray slams detentions, says 'BJP in state of tension'
In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, "This isn't just about detention; the BJP is in a state of tension, which is why everyone is facing detention. It is the fear within the BJP that has led to the detention of Indian citizens. If this isn't dictatorship, then what is?"
- 10 Oct 2026 8:57 PM IST
Detained protesters brought to police station in Delhi
Detained protesters were brought to Jaffarpur Kalan Police Station in Delhi.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:49 PM IST
Arvind Kejriwal says he has been released
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal says he has been released. He was earlier detained by Delhi Police.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:46 PM IST
Left parties, SFI members stage protests, road blockade condemning arrests in Delhi
The Left party members and SFI activists staged protests and road blockade across Tamil Nadu on Saturday condemning the Delhi police for arresting their leaders.
The widespread protests were triggered as a direct response to the Centre and Delhi police crackdown on the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) alliance protesters at Jantar Mantar demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Several leaders of the CPI(M) including its General Secretary M A Baby, former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, politburo member Brinda Karat, P Sandosh Kumar and P P Suneer, CPI MPs, and CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya were among those arrested during a march towards Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The protests were held in Chennai, Gandhipuram area of Coimbatore, Kulasekharam in Kanyakumari district, and other parts in the state, while road blockades were staged near the old bus stand in Mayiladuthurai, and Thanjavur condemning the Union government and Delhi police for the arrests.
The youth and student wings - the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) - held street marches in Chennai. Scores of protesters were detained by the police.
CPI(M) State Secretary P Shanmugam strongly condemned the Delhi police's action and alleged physical manhandling of the students.
A senior police official said the protesters had not obtained permission for the agitation. The police had to detain those who refused to disperse and indulged in a sudden road blockade, the official said and added all those arrested were later released.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:38 PM IST
CJP protest: SC to hear on Sunday plea seeking contempt action against authorities
The Supreme Court will hear on Sunday a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against authorities for allegedly violating the court's direction on ensuring that there is no "complete prohibition" of metro and train services due to CJP's protest in Delhi.
According to the cause list of October 11 uploaded on the apex court website, the plea would come up for hearing before a Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
The plea, filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, has arrayed Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chairperson D Thara as respondents.
"This brutal assault on the fundamental rights of the citizens and sheer disregard to the orders of this court amounts to deliberate, intentional attempt on the part of Delhi Metro, Delhi Police and the Union government which must be dealt with an iron hand," the plea, filed through advocate Chand Qureshi, said.
The petition referred to the top court's October 9 order which was passed while hearing a separate petition against the closure of 57 metro stations and cancellation of trains to Delhi in view of the protest.
The protest call was given by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and some student organisations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
While hearing the separate petition on Friday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Bagchi and Mohana had directed the Centre to ensure that there was no "complete prohibition" of the movement of metro and trains coming to Delhi on October 10 due to the protest, saying they cannot bring everything to a halt.
Though law enforcement agencies have the right to take steps to restrict unruly movement, citizens should not be unduly harassed, the top court had said.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:27 PM IST
United Nations Human Rights Office: 'Concerned by reports of mass detentions in Delhi'
United Nations Human Rights Office on Saturday said it is "concerned" by reports of mass detentions in Delhi and urged authorities to release them immediately.
"We are concerned by reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists, before and during today’s large-scale demonstrations in Delhi. We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled. Restrictions on peaceful protests must meet strict tests of necessity and proportionality," it said.
"The Indian authorities should also ensure law enforcement forces exercise utmost restraint in response to peaceful protesters, consistent with the country’s democratic traditions and human rights obligations. All those arbitrarily detained must be immediately and unconditionally released. We also urge the authorities to engage in meaningful dialogue to address the broadly held concerns expressed," it added.
