India, Oct. 10 -- Authorities on Friday imposed curbs without precedent in the Capital, ordering the gates of 45 metro stations shut, cutting mobile internet across a swathe of central Delhi, cancelling trains into the city and bringing in paramilitary reinforcements by special train, even though the Supreme Court directed the Centre and Delhi Police to lift blanket restrictions on public transport, observing that "you will not use a hammer to kill a fly".

Delhi Police on Friday denied the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) permission to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, setting off a security operation that by Friday night reached well beyond the Capital. The Gen Z-led movement, behind one of India's biggest student protests in years, whos...