Despite Delhi Police denying permission and taking its key leaders into custody, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday (October 10) said its youth-led protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar would continue with or without its leadership. The party and other Left organisations are demanding Kumar’s resignation and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
AISA president Neha Bora announced that the protest would continue at Dilli Haat, but police blocked the road and took her and other activists into custody around noon.
The CJP protest was scheduled to begin at Jantar Mantar at 10.30 am. Founder Abhijit Dipke and leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody aboard their flight shortly after it landed at 10.19 am. Dipke later said in-charge Ajinkya Shinde would lead the protest.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also picked up from his Gurugram residence in a joint operation by Delhi and Gurugram police and taken to an undisclosed location, intelligence sources told PTI.
Meanwhile, the national capital has been turned into a fortress as police launched a sweeping crackdown, detaining nearly 500 protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar or regroup elsewhere including former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Two police personnel were injured in stone-pelting near Akashwani Bhawan, officials said.
The protest centres on alleged voter-list manipulation during the SIR and changes relating to Form 6, used for voter registration.
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Protesters who gathered in Besant Nagar were detained by the Chennai Police and taken to a marriage hall. Members of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) and the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), who were marching towards the Tamil Nadu Secretariat via Sivananda Salai, were also detained, according to reports.
Badminton player Sandeep George was also detained despite not being part of the protests. The police reportedly did not pay heed to his clarifications, as per reports and social media accounts.
The CPI(M) on Saturday held protest marches across Keralam following the detention of party leaders in Delhi during an agitation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
CPI(M) leaders, including Pinarayi Vijayan, M A Baby and M V Govindan, were detained near Kerala House in Delhi.
In Keralam, protests were held in Kozhikode, Kannur and other areas. A DYFI protest in Palakkad turned violent, prompting police to use water cannons to disperse demonstrators. Authorities remained on alert amid expectations of further protests.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to produce before it a woman, who was allegedly detained while travelling to Delhi for the Cockroach Janta Party's protest, or ensure her safe return to her family by Tuesday.
The woman, Preeti Londhe, was travelling on the Goa Express to attend the CJP's protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi when personnel from the Railway Protection Force deboarded her at Itarsi station in Narmadapuram district on Thursday and handed her over to the state police.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday claimed that its leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained from inside the aircraft by Delhi Police as soon as their flight landed in the national capital.
The CJP leaders had arrived here from Mumbai for their protest at Jantar Mantar against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a video shared by the CJP, Dipke can be heard telling police officers who entered the aircraft: "Police are not allowing to deboard the flight. They are causing inconvenience to the other passengers. You can see where the nation is heading. They are here to arrest us literally from the flight. This is something that not even Indira Gandhi had done. This is dictatorship as Delhi Police has entered in the flight to arrest us. We are here to be arrested, come and arrest us."
Police sources said Dipke, Das and Ranka were taken to different places.
Dipke was taken to Gurugram, Ranka to Delhi's Dwarka, and Das to some other location in Delhi, they said.
Ahead of the CJP's proposed protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday said "dissent is not a crime", and that democracy cannot survive by silencing those who rise to defend it.
He alleged that the scenes unfolding in Delhi and the "scale of repression being unleashed against peaceful protesters," bring him back the painful memories of the infamous Emergency (1975-77) that he lived through.
Protest delayed: CJP’s anti-CEC protest was scheduled for 10.30 am on Saturday (October 10) at Jantar Mantar.
CJP leaders detained: CJP founder Abhijit Dipke and leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained aboard their flight after it landed at 10.19 am.
Shinde to lead: Dipke later announced Ajinkya Shinde would lead CJP’s anti-CEC protest instead.
CPI(M) leaders detained: Pinarayi Vijayan, M A Baby, John Brittas and KN Balagopal detained.
Mamata detained: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was detained during a dharna protest at a bus stand at South Avenue, in New Delhi, along with party leaders Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen and others.
Activists detained: CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, AISA president Neha, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were detained near INA market at noon.
Security heightened: Delhi Police has denied permission for the demonstration. Over 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed, 45 metro stations shut, traffic diversions imposed across 30 road stretches and heavy barricading along key routes. Security tightened at Delhi’s borders, railway stations, bus terminals, hotels and other sensitive locations, with vehicle checks, steel spikes on some roads, mock drills and social media monitoring also put in place.
Mass detentions: Nearly 500 protesters have been detained as of 2 pm while attempting to reach Jantar Mantar or regroup elsewhere.
Drone surveillance: Police are using drones to monitor movement across the area.
Trains cancelled: Northern Railway bulletins raised the number of trains cancelled ahead of the protest from 38 to over 250. The Supreme Court yesterday directed the Centre to ensure there was no “complete prohibition” on train and metro services to Delhi on Oct 10.
Stone-pelting: Two police personnel were injured in stone-pelting near Akashwani Bhawan, officials said.
Protest demands: The CJP has called the demonstration over alleged voter-list manipulation during the SIR and changes relating to Form 6.
SFI members detained: Over 400 SFI members were detained after marching towards Jantar Mantar, the organisation’s national president said.
Lawyers stopped: Delhi Police detained lawyers marching from the Supreme Court, who demanded CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Metro restrictions: Entry and exit restrictions imposed at 45 metro stations, with surveillance stepped up at key locations.