Saurabh Mukherjee
Several students, activists and citizens were detained by Delhi Police during a protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Friday (September 25), where demonstrators demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and several other protesters were among those taken into custody, according to the organisers. Police also reportedly manhandled protesters and took them to undisclosed locations, while roads leading to and from Jantar Mantar were blocked.
“You can disrupt one demonstration and detain some of us, but the demand for resignation of Gyanesh Kumar which is now resonating across the country cannot be suppressed,” Bhattacharya has tweeted.
The demonstration was organised by the Delhi unit of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) along with civil society members. Protesters raised slogans including “Arrest Gyanesh Kumar” and alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
AISA president Neha, RJD MP Manoj Jha, Bhattacharya, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Nandita Narain were among those who participated in the protest, the organisers said.
The action by the police came amid growing criticism over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, following a recent report by The Indian Express.
The deployment at Jantar Mantar also drew attention, with Border Security Force (BSF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel present at the site despite the demonstration involving unarmed protesters. Questions were also raised over police personnel allegedly not wearing name tags on their uniforms, recalling concerns over police action during protests at the same location in July demanding the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Clearly the government is in panic mode after the expose of the [Indian] Express about the brazenly illegal & unilateral functioning of Gyanesh Kumar & the growing demand for his resignation & prosecution,” tweeted lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
Yogendra Yadav, in a video message posted on X, said protesters were being taken away without being informed where they would be held.
“Instead of catching criminals, the Delhi Police has taken all of us into custody to protect vote thieves – Dipankar Bhattacharya, Anjali Bhardwaj, and Neha Bora, including me and many young comrades, are being taken somewhere near Delhi Cantt; they haven’t told us yet which police station,” Yogendra Yadav said in a video message on X.
The protest and subsequent detentions come against the backdrop of continuing questions over the Election Commission’s decisions on electoral rolls and the SIR process.
The Election Commission has maintained that differences of opinion and internal feedback are part of the functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and that final decisions on the SIR were unanimous.
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and several other protesters were among those taken into custody, according to the organisers. Police also reportedly manhandled protesters and took them to undisclosed locations, while roads leading to and from Jantar Mantar were blocked.
“You can disrupt one demonstration and detain some of us, but the demand for resignation of Gyanesh Kumar which is now resonating across the country cannot be suppressed,” Bhattacharya has tweeted.
Had joined AISA President Neha, Yogendra Yadav, noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, transparency activist Anjali Bharadwaj, AIKM General Secretary Purushottam Sharma and scores of student activists and progressive citizens of Delhi at Jantar Mantar to demand resignation of… pic.twitter.com/5hOevngnGJ
— Dipankar (@Dipankar_cpiml) September 25, 2026
The demonstration was organised by the Delhi unit of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) along with civil society members. Protesters raised slogans including “Arrest Gyanesh Kumar” and alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.
AISA president Neha, RJD MP Manoj Jha, Bhattacharya, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Nandita Narain were among those who participated in the protest, the organisers said.
Students protesting at Jantar Mantar brutally detained to protect CEC Gyanesh Kumar who has sold out the electoral system and the nation. pic.twitter.com/rlNiAC0xb4
— Neha (@neha_aisa) September 25, 2026
The action by the police came amid growing criticism over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, following a recent report by The Indian Express.
The deployment at Jantar Mantar also drew attention, with Border Security Force (BSF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel present at the site despite the demonstration involving unarmed protesters. Questions were also raised over police personnel allegedly not wearing name tags on their uniforms, recalling concerns over police action during protests at the same location in July demanding the resignation of former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Clearly the government is in panic mode after the expose of the [Indian] Express about the brazenly illegal & unilateral functioning of Gyanesh Kumar & the growing demand for his resignation & prosecution,” tweeted lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
AISA president Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav & Anjali Bharadwaj have all been detained by Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar & taken in different buses to different places!
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 25, 2026
Clearly the govt is in panic mode after the expose of the Express about the brazenly illegal & unilateral… https://t.co/iaZBsfqfNc
Yogendra Yadav, in a video message posted on X, said protesters were being taken away without being informed where they would be held.
“Instead of catching criminals, the Delhi Police has taken all of us into custody to protect vote thieves – Dipankar Bhattacharya, Anjali Bhardwaj, and Neha Bora, including me and many young comrades, are being taken somewhere near Delhi Cantt; they haven’t told us yet which police station,” Yogendra Yadav said in a video message on X.
The protest and subsequent detentions come against the backdrop of continuing questions over the Election Commission’s decisions on electoral rolls and the SIR process.
The Election Commission has maintained that differences of opinion and internal feedback are part of the functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and that final decisions on the SIR were unanimous.
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