New Delhi, Oct. 10 -- Security and barricades in central Delhi prevented protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar on Saturday, as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), student groups and Left organisations sought the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and rollback of the Special Intensive Revision.
Restrictions around Connaught Place, Janpath and Parliament Street also disrupted journalists' movement, with reporters saying they were denied passage despite showing media identity cards.
Protest shifts from Jantar Mantar
After police denied permission for the demonstration, All India Students' Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora and other activists mobilised elsewhere. Bora, along with psephologist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, led a gathering from Jor Bagh towards Dilli Haat-INA.
Bora later said on social media, "I am in detention, but the movement is not," and urged supporters to gather near Safdarjung Flyover and Sri Aurobindo Marg. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were intercepted and detained after arriving.
Danish, AISA joint secretary, alleged police lathi-charged students, misbehaved with women protesters and dragged them by their hair before detaining them. He claimed officers did not tell detainees where they were being taken. The allegations were not independently verified.
Students take shelter at Bangla Sahib
Around 30 to 50 protesters took shelter inside Bangla Sahib as police restricted movement near Jantar Mantar. Some alleged they had been taken 20 to 50 kilometres away and released, making it difficult to regroup.
"We are here to protest, not to get detained," said Sarika, a research scholar who declined to identify her institution, citing fears of repercussions. She alleged police and CRPF personnel chased protesters towards the gurdwara and said some people outside were dragged away. Sarika criticised organisers for not keeping participants informed about alternatives. "Dialogue is the most important part of democracy," she said.
Jitender Kumar (24), from Uttar Pradesh, questioned the deployment of police against demonstrators. Sumit, from Rohtak, alleged protesters were moved away to prevent them from assembling. Nikhil, a government employee, sought accountability over alleged irregularities in elections.
Journalists stopped despite ID cards
Reporters from several news organisations said they were unable to reach Connaught Place, Jantar Mantar and Parliament Street despite carrying media identification. A journalist with Informist Media said police stopped her while she was travelling from Mandi House towards Connaught Place and directed her towards India Gate.
A Delhi Police head constable reportedly said the ID card shown was not valid for passage. A senior police official said the government's guidelines should have been stricter, noting that not every journalist carried a Press Information Bureau card. This raised questions about the implementation of government guidelines asking journalists to carry valid identification. Delhi Police had not commented on the allegations at the time of reporting.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.