Security personnel keep vigil as heavy police deployment and entry restrictions are enforced at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday (October 10). Photo: PTI
Security personnel keep vigil as heavy police deployment and entry restrictions are enforced at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday (October 10). Photo: PTI
Security personnel keep vigil as heavy police deployment and entry restrictions are enforced at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday (October 10). Photo: PTI
CJP protests: Mass detentions, arrests, plea filed in SC | What happened so far in Delhi
The demonstration was blocked by heavy security deployment, while Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of imposing a crackdown worse than the Emergency
Delhi Police on Saturday (October 10) chased Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar, detaining several as they regrouped and tried to evade the security cordon.
CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at Delhi airport as they landed.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, but the police and paramilitary forces deterred the participants from reaching the Jantar Mantar site, which has been turned into a fortress, by detaining several and sending back many more.
Also read: CJP protests LIVE: Dipke, Rathee, Kejriwal, Left, student leaders detained
The CJP had called for a demonstration alleging voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and irregularities related to Form 6, used for voter registration, and demanded Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
CJP vows to continue protest
Despite the detention of its founder Abhijeet Dipke and senior leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said it would continue its agitation. The movement has demanded the immediate release of its leaders and accused the authorities of trying to cripple the protest before it could begin. The planned demonstration sought Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Heavy police deployment
The police top brass monitored the situation and supervised the deployment made across the New Delhi area which has been divided into 20 sectors.
As protesters, many of them women, attempted to regroup at different locations, police chased them down and detained them in buses. A few agitators entered a gurdwara in the area amid the police action.
The police maintained a strict vigil across the district, with personnel deployed at key intersections and approach roads to prevent any gathering near Jantar Mantar. The police earlier denied permission for a protest at Jantar Mantar and imposed prohibitory orders in the zone.
Also read: CJP protest: Over 20,000 police, paramilitary personnel deployed in Delhi
Security forces carried out a flag march in the area and appealed to people to abide by the orders in force.
Metro closure extended
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has extended the closure of entry and exit gates at 45 metro stations by four hours till 10 pm amid security arrangements for the CJP protest in the national capital.
The stations, which were earlier scheduled to reopen at 6 pm, will continue to remain closed till 10 pm on Saturday, the DMRC said in a revised service update.
The situation will be reviewed by security agencies and further updates will be shared accordingly, it said.
The restrictions cover several key stations across the metro network, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Patel Chowk, Janpath, Mandi House, ITO, Kashmere Gate and New Delhi.
Interchange facilities were allowed at the affected stations, except New Delhi metro station, under the earlier advisory.
Contempt plea
‘Worse than Emergency’
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal slammed the Centre over the "worse than Emergency" security clampdown in central Delhi to thwart the CJP protest and the detention of the outfit's top leadership.
By arresting "cockroaches" on their flight, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed he is scared, he said. "This is worse than the Emergency. It's official… We are living under an absolute dictatorship ruled by Modi. Arresting cockroaches straight off their flight shows an unprecedented level of fear," Kejriwal said on X.
Vote theft allegations
"PM Modi clearly knows he only won the election through vote chori and now he is hell-bent on protecting his fraud by completely crushing democracy. Gyanesh must go, but so must Modi," he added.
The AAP has alleged that Delhi Police turned Kejriwal's residence into a fortress ahead of the Cockroach Janata Party's protest at Jantar Mantar. On Friday (October 9), Kejriwal said he and his family will attend the protest and urged youngsters to join the demonstration for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged "vote theft".
Student protesters detained
Several members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and other student organisations, along with lawyers marching from the Supreme Court towards Jantar Mantar, were detained by the Delhi Police ahead of the proposed CJP protest.
The Delhi Police denied permission for the protest at Jantar Mantar, citing security considerations and procedural requirements.
Also read: CJP’s Dipke demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, warns of countrywide protests
SFI national president Adarsh M Saji told PTI that more than 400 members of the organisation were detained after they began their march around 10 am. The protesters were detained around 11 am, he said.
“The protesters have been detained. We are here to save democracy. This is a fight between autocracy and democracy. This fight is not over. Gyanesh Kumar will be thrown out of his seat,” a protester was heard saying from inside a police bus after being detained.
Mumbai protest crackdown
In a post on X, the organisation had shared a poster urging citizens to join a protest gathering at August Kranti Maidan at 3.30 pm. Activist Feeroz Mithiborwala was also taken into custody from his residence and shifted to the MIDC police station.
Ahead of the proposed demonstration, Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ragasudha R stated that no application regarding the event had been submitted to the Gamdevi police station, and no official permission had been granted for the gathering, maintaining that August Kranti Maidan is not designated as a protest site.
Jean Drèze, scholars detained
Economist and activist Jean Drèze was among those detained by Delhi Police during a peaceful protest near Jantar Mantar. Filmmaker Aban Raza and scholars Paran Amitava and Anjali S. were also detained while holding posters and speaking to the media. Drèze said police picked them up without explanation. He also alleged that 30–35 people who were not involved in the protest, many from working-class and minority communities, were caught up in the police action.
Detentions spread beyond Delhi
The crackdown extended beyond the capital, with reports of protesters being detained in multiple locations, including Gurugram, Chandigarh and Mumbai. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was reportedly placed under house arrest, while student activists and others travelling to Delhi were stopped before they could reach the protest venue. The Indian Express reported that around 2,000 people had been detained amid the operation, with many taken to stadiums and other temporary detention centres.
(With agency inputs)