Anti-CEC protests: Chennai police detain protesters from Besant Nagar amid nationwide stir

CHENNAI: As protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in New Delhi were met with a police crackdown on Saturday (October 10), Chennai Police also detained protesters at Besant Nagar and members of student and youth organisations marching towards the Tamil Nadu Secretariat.

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.

People across the country have been demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar after media reports revealed alleged discrepancies in the SIR exercise, which reportedly removed over 13 crore voters from electoral rolls.

Protests have been happening across cities, alongside the Cockroach Janta Party's agitation in New Delhi. The national capital was turned into a fortress on Saturday as police launched a sweeping crackdown, detaining CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and nearly 500 protesters, foiling their bid to reach Jantar Mantar, while the Opposition denounced the situation as "worse than the Emergency."

AISA president Neha Bora, CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, and politicians John Brittas, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan, among others, have also been detained.

Waves of barricades lined the streets ahead of the CJP protest, with the deployment of over 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel, the closure of 45 metro stations and intensive checks at the city's border points, railway stations, bus terminals, hotels and other sensitive locations.

In a pre-recorded video message released soon after his detention, CJP leader Dipke said the organisation's in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, would lead its protest at Jantar Mantar. The CJP asserted that the protest would continue nationwide, with or without its leaders.

The CJP has called the proposed demonstration against the CEC over allegations of voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and changes relating to Form 6, used for voter registration.