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 8:23 PM IST
Left parties condemn crackdown on anti-CEC protesters in Delhi
Left parties on Saturday condemned the detention of thousands of political leaders, students, youths and activists in Delhi during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) alleged that its leaders were manhandled, denied food and water, and prevented from accessing essential medication.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) accused the BJP-led government of employing "fascist methods" to suppress the protest.
Former Kerala chief minister and CPI(M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, party general secretary M A Baby and veteran leader Brinda Karat were among those detained outside Kerala Bhawan as they attempted to proceed to Jantar Mantar.
Former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) general secretary Elamaram Kareem were detained at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana along with student activists and trade union leaders.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, All India Students' Association (AISA) president Neha, activist Yogendra Yadav and lawyer Prashant Bhushan were detained near the INA market while marching towards the Safdarjung flyover.
In a post on X, CPI(M) leader M A Baby said hundreds of representatives of political parties, civil society organisations, students and youths were arrested in Delhi, and almost the entire CPI(M) leadership were taken into police custody.
"Many of those arrested were roughed up and manhandled by the police, leading to injuries to some, including Politburo member Tapan Sen and MP Sivadasan," he said.
Baby alleged that Vijayan and several others were confined to police vehicles for hours.
"They were denied food and water and were not even allowed to take essential medications," he said.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:15 PM IST
Sibal questions legality of detentions, alleges several protesters taken to undisclosed locations
Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal on Saturday questioned the legality of detaining people to restrict them from participating in the protest at Jantar Mantar demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and alleged that several protesters were taken to undisclosed locations.
Addressing a press conference, Sibal questioned the imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), saying such restrictions were meant to prevent threats to public order and not to stop peaceful demonstrations.
"If a person or a community wants to protest peacefully, then who is in danger? The society is not in danger. It seems that the government is in danger," he argued.
Sibal questioned why people travelling to Delhi by train and air were being detained before reaching the protest venue, and cited several names of people he said had been held in Karnataka and West Bengal.
"If a youth gets on a train, will you arrest him? On what basis will you arrest him? What kind of law is this," he asked.
Sibal also questioned the practice of taking detainees to undisclosed locations without informing their families about their whereabouts.
"You formally arrest someone. Tell us where you are taking him," he said.
Referring to the security deployment in the capital, Sibal questioned the need for such a large force to deal with a peaceful demonstration.
"And you need 28 battalions for this? You need CAPF and Delhi Police for this? Thousands and thousands," he said.
Sibal alleged that protesters were being manhandled at places where they had been detained and said the restrictions could not prevent people from continuing to demonstrate.
- 10 Oct 2026 8:06 PM IST
More than 7,000 protesters detained in Delhi
More than 7,000 protesters were detained today across Delhi, including more than 2,000 in New Delhi area, PTI reported citing police sources.
- 10 Oct 2026 7:59 PM IST
Rahul Gandhi: 'Mogambo Modi has destroyed democracy'
Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Narendra Modi. Says, "Mogambo Modi has destroyed democracy and the future of India's youth".
- 10 Oct 2026 7:53 PM IST
CJP legal affairs head says she remains detained since 9 AM
CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh says she has been detained since 9 AM. Adds, "Delhi Police following order from master".
- 10 Oct 2026 7:51 PM IST
CJP says Dipke's whereabouts unknown, his family cannot contact him to inform grandmother's passing
CJP says its founder Abhijeet Dipke's whereabouts remain unknown, urging Delhi Police to release him immediately.
- 10 Oct 2026 7:47 PM IST
Neha Bora: 'I got my phone back now'; says detained women released
Activist and All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora says she got her phone back after it was taken away by Delhi Police.
- 10 Oct 2026 7:38 PM IST
Sagarika Ghosh attacks Modi, Shah; says BJP in power through 'illegal means'
TMC MP Sagarika Ghosh slams PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. She alleged that the BJP is in power through "illegal means".
- 10 Oct 2026 7:27 PM IST
Join our 'massive protest' on Monday: Congress MP Venugopal to people
Congress MP KC Venugopal urges people to join "massive protest" in Delhi on Monday (October 12).
- 10 Oct 2026 7:25 PM IST
Mamata Banerjee on detention: 'Almost like kidnapping, they picked us like criminals'
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said the situation in Delhi has gone "beyond Emergency", as she was detained along with party leaders who were protesting against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Banerjee, along with TMC joint secretaries Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, Lok Sabha MP Pratima Mondal and former MP Saket Gokhale, staged a sit-in at the bus stop on South Avenue after allegedly being stopped from proceeding to Jantar Mantar, nearly 5 km away, to join the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). They were later detained.
Banerjee described her detention as similar to being "kidnapped", and said it was her first time being taken in a "prison van".
Speaking to a group of journalists after being taken to Dwarka North police station in Sector 17, Banerjee said the six leaders had first asked the police if they could be allowed to go to Jantar Mantar but were told they could not proceed.
"We were expressing solidarity in front of Derek's house. Police said more than three can't sit. We divided," she said.
Banerjee said the group then sat on the road near a bus stop on South Avenue, in front of their vehicle. She was holding a poster reading "Save India, Save Democracy".
"There was only one poster, Save India, Save Democracy. They didn't listen. They just picked us in a prison van," she said, adding that the group had removed the banner after police objected to it.
"It's very unfortunate. We are not criminals; they picked us like criminals," she said.
The TMC chief alleged that the leaders were driven around for nearly two hours without being told where they were being taken.
"We were moving around for two hours, didn't know where we were going. Just like kidnapping. Now we are on the border of Haryana-Delhi," she said.
Banerjee questioned why the police had used a "prison van" to carry elected representatives.
She said she had cancelled her flight to Kolkata after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi requested her to stay in Delhi. She was scheduled to attend a programme in West Bengal on Saturday.
