New Delhi: The plan was to assemble at Jantar Mantar, but it was not to be.
A sea of khaki and blue-green fatigues, metal barriers and buses parked askew on streets turned India’s address of dissent into a fortress Saturday, scattering protesters across Delhi, with small groups raising slogans, changing routes and trying to regroup, before being detained.
By 5 PM, at least 3,000 people were detained.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had called for a demonstration to demand Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, accusing him of masterminding voter-list manipulation during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll and other irregularities related to Form 6, used for voter registration.
But with heavy security deployment preventing protesters from reaching the designated venue, what was meant to be a collective gathering soon spilled into streets, intersections and alternative meeting points across Delhi.
Saturday’s protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations that have rocked New Delhi this past week, including one by Congress activists led by Rahul Gandhi.
A new protest by the INDIA opposition bloc is scheduled for Monday.
A previous CJP protest in July against competitive examination paper leaks had forced the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after young men and women camped out at Jantar Mantar for days. Mindful of the success of that protest, the government had, on Saturday, placed central Delhi in a much larger and tighter security grip, shutting down metro services, suspending trains coming into New Delhi from outside, and blocking mobile Internet services.
From Connaught Place and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to Dilli Haat, Gole Market, INA market and Minto Bridge, the protesters moved between locations, searching for places to assemble and trying to find others who had set out for Jantar Mantar.
At several points, slogans rang out before police personnel moved in, chasing protesters and detaining them. Unlike the July protests, however, police did not use force and no violence was reported.
For protesters who had attended the demonstration in July, the difference was stark. They had assembled at Jantar Mantar before marching, but this time even deciding where to meet had become a challenge.
A protester who had attended the July demonstration said participants were struggling to figure out where to assemble, with most updates coming through social-media posts and messages.
“Last time, we were stationed at Jantar Mantar and then had to march. This time, there is so much confusion about when and where to come. The only updates we are getting are through tweets and posts. How do we decide when to arrive and where to go? Even if a few of us gather together, we could be detained immediately. But we will continue this fight. We will fight for our democracy,” the protester said.
By afternoon, the planned gathering at Jantar Mantar had become a series of smaller demonstrations across Delhi. Streets and intersections became temporary meeting points as protesters searched for one another, raised slogans and tried to keep the protest going despite the repeated dispersals and detentions
The protest was scheduled to begin at 10:30 am, but security personnel prevented the participants from reaching Jantar Mantar, where prohibitory orders were in force. Some protesters were detained near the venue, while others scattered into adjoining areas in an attempt to continue the demonstration elsewhere.
The outer circle of Connaught Place, the area near Hanuman Mandir, Sansad Marg, Raisina Road, Imtiaz Khan Road, H K S Surjeet Bhawan, the stretch around the Safdarjung Airport flyover and the vicinity of the Shivaji Stadium metro station were among the locations where protesters gathered or attempted to mobilise. Several were detained near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, while others were sent back or chased away as they tried to regroup.
The pattern continued through the morning — groups gathered at a new location, raised slogans and attempted to draw others in, only to be dispersed or detained. With the original venue effectively cut off, protesters relied on social media posts and messages to learn where others were assembling and where they should head next.
The detention of CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka at the Delhi airport upon their arrival in the national capital earlier in the day added to the confusion, leaving other organisers to coordinate the protest amid rapidly-changing circumstances.
Ajinkya Shinde, who was made the national organisation in-charge of the CJP following the detention of the three leaders, called on people to continue the demonstration wherever they were stopped.
“We call upon every citizen to march towards Jantar Mantar. If your movement is blocked by barricades or police personnel anywhere on the streets, do not stop — start your protest right where you are stopped. The nation’s movement to safeguard democracy and demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar will go on,” Shinde said.
At Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, the situation turned chaotic as some protesters sought refuge inside the gurdwara, while those who came out faced the risk of detention near Sansad Marg and adjoining areas. Elsewhere, protesters attempted to break through barricades as police personnel pursued groups moving between locations.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) announced a change in its destination to Dilli Haat after several protesters were detained in and around Jantar Mantar. Its president, Neha Bora, marched towards the alternative location and urged others to join her.
“Delhi Haat becomes Jantar Mantar today! See you there!” Bora wrote on X.
The call offered the protesters who were unable to reach Jantar Mantar a new meeting point. However, the effort to regroup was also disrupted, with Bora detained, according to protesters.
In another attempt to find an alternative venue, Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim, along with detained activists from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), announced “Jantar Mantar 2.0” at Nangloi Stadium.
Delhi Police officials had earlier said they expected around 7,000 protesters to arrive in the national capital on Saturday. Senior officers had directed personnel to exercise maximum restraint and handle the situation professionally, an official said.
The preparations were extensive, with around 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed across the city. Entry and exit restrictions were imposed at 45 metro stations, while surveillance was intensified at Delhi’s borders, railway stations, bus terminals and other sensitive locations ahead of the proposed demonstration.
