Delhi Police Detain Over 550 Protesters Demanding Chief Election Commissioner's Resignation

At 1 pm on Gandhi Jayanti, police officers were stationed along Janpath Road in Delhi, leaning against a line of barricades that blocked the way to Jantar Mantar. They watched as 50-60 protesters stood in scattered groups of five or six near a McDonald’s outlet: some danced in protest, others shouted slogans. “Should we get them inside a bus?” a police officer asked his senior. “Wait. If they gather in a group of more than 10, pick them up,” the senior officer replied. Police had tightened security across Central Delhi ahead of demonstrations called by opposition parties and student outfits at Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. But the small groups were a far cry from the crowds that had filled Jantar Mantar and adjoining Parliament Street two months ago. In July, thousands had gathered after Cockroach Janta Party’s Abhijeet Dipke began his hunger strike, leading protests that forced then-Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over the NEET-UG exam ‘leak’. This time, the police weren’t taking any chances. By morning, the area around the Parliament Street police station and Jantar Mantar had been sealed off. Officials said over 4,000 police personnel were deployed around the site, which was divided into multiple zones, each headed by a DCP-rank officer. Drones were also used to monitor the protest site. The first prominent leader to arrive was Aam Aadmi Party’s Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, around 10.30 am. He was promptly carried away by police and put in a bus. For the next five hours, police stuck to the same strategy: protesters who arrived from Ashoka Road, Janpath and Tolstoy Road were stopped at the roundabout near Parliament Street, loaded into buses, and taken to Fatehpur Beri and Badarpur police stations. By the time All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora arrived, flanked by Swaraj India member Yogendra Yadav and RTI activist Nikhil Dey, 500 people had already been detained. Dressed in a red T-shirt, Bora crossed Ashoka Road and tried entering Parliament Street. Pushed back by the police, she and Yadav sat down, with supporters chanting slogans. DCP (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma approached from behind the barricades as police officers in riot control gear lined up. The three were swiftly picked up by four police officers and loaded into a bus — the 18th vehicle filled with protesters since morning. “ Gandhi diwas pe Gandhi ke desh mein jo ho raha hai, aap dekh rahe hain (On Gandhi Jayanti, in Gandhi’s country, you can see what is happening),” Yadav shouted from inside the bus. “This government is acting like the British government. And we are trying to save the country with the flag.” Despite claims that over 700 were detained , police said the figure was around 550 protesters. These included former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha. In a video shared on X from Fatehpur Beri police station, Atishi said: “We were protesting peacefully at Jantar Mantar. The Delhi police picked AAP leaders and workers with barbarism and brutality.” The video showed detained AAP workers chanting “ Gyanesh Kumar, istifa do (Gyanesh Kumar, resign)”. She wrote in the post: “The fervor of the revolutionaries remains intact at the Fatehpur Beri police station as well… We will continue to fight for democracy. We are not afraid of Modi ji’s police; Gyanesh Kumar will have to go.” Before the protest, Bharadwaj had addressed the media and said: “Protesting is our democratic right. But the police are telling us permission for the demonstration has not been granted… even though six days ago AAP applied for permission here for a peaceful demonstration.” Unable to reach Jantar Mantar, small groups of protesters remained around Janpath through the afternoon. College students with backpacks and red gamchhas stood alongside middle-aged men and women, with fresh rounds of sloganeering against the Prime Minister and CEC breaking out every few minutes. A young man in a red kurta held up a hand-painted poster that read, “Gyanesh, it’s done bro”. Below it were the words “vote chori” and “objections”, alongside a book marked “SIR” and an EVM drawn in one corner. Pawan, a 36-year-old IT professional based in Andhra Pradesh who was at the demonstration, said, “The protest is against Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission. But there’s a larger context, I feel. Demanding the resignation of the CEC isn’t the only thing. People are upset with the SIR. This is a disenfranchisement of millions of voters.” For Chhai, 26, who lives in Mayur Vihar, the protest was about seeking accountability from the Election Commission. “I felt it was my duty to do this,” he said. By around 6 pm, police said all protesters were released. A senior police officer said that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) will apply in the area till October 21. A police source said no case has been filed yet but they are investigating the roles of protesters. Police denied manhandling any protesters.