Delhi Police Reportedly Detain Nearly 7,000 During CJP Protest, Jantar Mantar Sealed Amid Heavy Security

New Delhi: The Delhi Police detained nearly 7,000 protesters from various parts of the national capital on Saturday as it set about preventing the CJP and its supporters from gathering at Jantar Mantar to protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Later in the evening, all the detainees, except CJP leaders, were released.

Heavy security deployment around Jantar Mantar

Ahead of the protest, nearly 15,000 policemen and 25,000 paramilitary personnel had been deployed. The entire area around Jantar Mantar, the dedicated space for such protests, was heavily barricaded and sealed as it was the primary focal point of the planned protest. The Delhi Police had earlier denied permission for the protest at Jantar Mantar, citing the past record of violence during protests by CJP. It had also stated that the youth group had not given sufficient notice for the protest.

However, unlike July 22, when CJP supporters and police and paramilitary personnel had clashed violently, leading to serious injuries to many, the protests did not result in serious violence on Saturday.

In most places, the protesters jostled with the police, resisted being detained and tried to stop the police vehicles carrying the detainees by sitting or lying before them, but there were no instances of stone-pelting or tear-gas firing or lathi-charge.

Restrictions imposed to prevent gatherings

The police had also invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers authorities to restrict gatherings and other activities to prevent threats to public order.

To deter protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar and nearby areas, the police had also urged the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to close the entry and exit to 57 Metro train stations. The Railways had also stopped trains from entering Delhi in the earlier part of the day.

In order to prevent CJP supporters from gathering at the venue, the police had also declared the protest illegal and warned that legal cases would be filed against the protesters. It had also reached out to people in the Walled City and other nearby areas and urged them not to join in the protests. Mobile and internet services were suspended in parts of the city to prevent groups from mobilising into larger gatherings.

Protesters intercepted across central Delhi

Even as a large number of CJP supporters and activists still managed to reach Connaught Place near Jantar Mantar, police intercepted and detained a number of them near the Regal building and Hanuman Mandir.

Further ahead, around 100 to 150 activists from the All India Students' Federation (AISF) and Students’ Federation of India were detained from Minto Road following confrontations at the barricades.

Similarly, the CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh and other figures were detained outside their residences in Jangpura. Some detentions and confrontations between the police and protesters were also witnessed near ITO, the BJP headquarters, Kartavya Path, Janpath, Mandi House, Patel Chowk, and Parliament Street. Some protesters also entered Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and were directed to leave the place.

Stadium used to hold detainees

Most of the detained protesters were bundled into police vehicles and taken away. Several were transported to Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi, which was used as a holding location.

With some protesters having broken the glass panes of buses to escape detention during the Congress-led Opposition protests at Jantar Mantar and nearby areas earlier this week, the police on Saturday pressed its own vehicles into service, which are also used for transporting prisoners.

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Preventive detentions and journalists held

The police operation extended beyond the immediate protest site. Over 600 people with criminal records were also detained in preventive action.

Some journalists covering the developments were also detained. Newslaundry said three of its reporters and an intern were taken into custody and their phones were seized. A reporter from Scroll was also detained, according to his organisation.