Saurabh Mukherjee
Delhi witnessed a sweeping police crackdown on Saturday as opposition leaders, student activists and youth organisers were detained ahead of a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The authorities deployed tens of thousands of police and central forces personnel, restricted access to major transport hubs, closed Metro stations and imposed internet restrictions around the protest area.
The demonstration was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had urged people to assemble in the capital on October 10. Delhi Police had denied permission for the protest, citing the short notice given by the organisers. Despite the restrictions and arrests, organisers appealed to supporters to continue mobilising and to treat any location where they were stopped by police as a protest venue.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained by Delhi Police shortly after their flight landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained in Gurugram, while CJP legal cell chief Ratna Singh was detained in Delhi.
Following Dipke’s detention, CJP’s Ajinkya Shinde took the lead in the mobilisation and urged people to move towards Jantar Mantar despite the heavy security presence.
“If Delhi Police tries to stop you, wherever they stop you will become your Jantar Mantar,” Dipke wrote on X.
The crackdown extended to opposition politicians and Left leaders. AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was detained after appealing to supporters to gather at Jantar Mantar and demand the CEC’s resignation. AAP leader Atishi alleged that he was “brutally taken into custody”.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress MPs were detained while staging a dharna near South Avenue bus stand. AISA president Neha Bora and Yogendra Yadav, national convenor of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan, were also detained while attempting to march towards Dilli Haat.
Among the Left leaders detained were former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. CPI(M) workers claimed that more than 500 party members were detained at Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan in the Mandi House area before the planned gathering.
The CJP had called the demonstration to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR process.
On Friday, Delhi Police announced that permission had been denied, saying the “intimation was given in a very short span of time”.
The scale of the security operation was reflected in the deployment of central forces. The Union Home Ministry made approximately 23,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel available for law and order duties in the capital, drawing forces from areas including Jammu and Kashmir and regions affected by Maoist activity. Delhi Police separately said more than 15,000 of its personnel had been deployed, while the number of central force personnel in the city was expected to reach around 26,000.
Barricades and spike strips were installed around Jantar Mantar and on roads leading to the protest site. At three major entry and exit points, loudspeakers issued warnings in Hindi and English against gatherings, processions, road blockades and other activities prohibited under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Public transport was also disrupted as authorities sought to restrict movement towards central Delhi. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) initially announced entry and exit restrictions at 57 stations from 9 pm on Friday, later revising the list to 45 stations. The closures were scheduled to continue through Saturday, with access to the affected stations subject to restoration as the situation returned to normal.
The Railways cancelled mail and express trains at their originating stations if they were scheduled to arrive at New Delhi or Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm on Saturday. The decision was attributed to the possibility of heavy road congestion around the stations during the protest.
The Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar stations of the Namo Bharat corridor were also shut from 9 pm on October 9 until 10 pm on October 10. Retail liquor outlets across Delhi were ordered to remain closed on October 9 and 10 under an order issued by the excise department.
The restrictions covered specified outlets selling Indian, foreign and country liquor, including some shops in malls. Licensed restaurants, bars and clubs, however, were permitted to serve liquor as usual, according to an excise department official.
Access to Jantar Mantar was restricted, with media personnel also reportedly being denied entry to the protest site. Mobile internet services were suspended within a four-kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar from 10 pm on Friday until 10 pm on Saturday, adding another layer of restrictions around the planned mobilisation.
The extensive security arrangements and preventive detentions disrupted the opposition-led mobilisation across the capital.
With protest organisers urging supporters to continue gathering despite police intervention, the day’s events placed the restrictions on public assembly and the right to protest at the centre of the confrontation over the SIR exercise and demands for the CEC’s resignation.
The authorities deployed tens of thousands of police and central forces personnel, restricted access to major transport hubs, closed Metro stations and imposed internet restrictions around the protest area.
The demonstration was called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had urged people to assemble in the capital on October 10. Delhi Police had denied permission for the protest, citing the short notice given by the organisers. Despite the restrictions and arrests, organisers appealed to supporters to continue mobilising and to treat any location where they were stopped by police as a protest venue.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-conveners Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were detained by Delhi Police shortly after their flight landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was detained in Gurugram, while CJP legal cell chief Ratna Singh was detained in Delhi.
Following Dipke’s detention, CJP’s Ajinkya Shinde took the lead in the mobilisation and urged people to move towards Jantar Mantar despite the heavy security presence.
“If Delhi Police tries to stop you, wherever they stop you will become your Jantar Mantar,” Dipke wrote on X.
The crackdown extended to opposition politicians and Left leaders. AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was detained after appealing to supporters to gather at Jantar Mantar and demand the CEC’s resignation. AAP leader Atishi alleged that he was “brutally taken into custody”.
3-time Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal brutally taken into custody by Delhi Police, for demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Modi Ji: how many people will you put behind bars to save Gyanesh Kumar? https://t.co/puVxYaXT8s
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) October 10, 2026
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress MPs were detained while staging a dharna near South Avenue bus stand. AISA president Neha Bora and Yogendra Yadav, national convenor of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan, were also detained while attempting to march towards Dilli Haat.
Among the Left leaders detained were former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. CPI(M) workers claimed that more than 500 party members were detained at Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan in the Mandi House area before the planned gathering.
Modi and Shah's Great Indian Detention Fest is a fail! #JantarMantar https://t.co/XAMGHoEELn
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) October 10, 2026
The CJP had called the demonstration to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the SIR process.
On Friday, Delhi Police announced that permission had been denied, saying the “intimation was given in a very short span of time”.
The scale of the security operation was reflected in the deployment of central forces. The Union Home Ministry made approximately 23,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel available for law and order duties in the capital, drawing forces from areas including Jammu and Kashmir and regions affected by Maoist activity. Delhi Police separately said more than 15,000 of its personnel had been deployed, while the number of central force personnel in the city was expected to reach around 26,000.
Barricades and spike strips were installed around Jantar Mantar and on roads leading to the protest site. At three major entry and exit points, loudspeakers issued warnings in Hindi and English against gatherings, processions, road blockades and other activities prohibited under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Public transport was also disrupted as authorities sought to restrict movement towards central Delhi. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) initially announced entry and exit restrictions at 57 stations from 9 pm on Friday, later revising the list to 45 stations. The closures were scheduled to continue through Saturday, with access to the affected stations subject to restoration as the situation returned to normal.
The Railways cancelled mail and express trains at their originating stations if they were scheduled to arrive at New Delhi or Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 am and 2 pm on Saturday. The decision was attributed to the possibility of heavy road congestion around the stations during the protest.
The Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar stations of the Namo Bharat corridor were also shut from 9 pm on October 9 until 10 pm on October 10. Retail liquor outlets across Delhi were ordered to remain closed on October 9 and 10 under an order issued by the excise department.
The restrictions covered specified outlets selling Indian, foreign and country liquor, including some shops in malls. Licensed restaurants, bars and clubs, however, were permitted to serve liquor as usual, according to an excise department official.
Access to Jantar Mantar was restricted, with media personnel also reportedly being denied entry to the protest site. Mobile internet services were suspended within a four-kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar from 10 pm on Friday until 10 pm on Saturday, adding another layer of restrictions around the planned mobilisation.
The extensive security arrangements and preventive detentions disrupted the opposition-led mobilisation across the capital.
With protest organisers urging supporters to continue gathering despite police intervention, the day’s events placed the restrictions on public assembly and the right to protest at the centre of the confrontation over the SIR exercise and demands for the CEC’s resignation.
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