The Delhi police on Friday told its personnel to “prepare for the storm” as the national capital went on high alert ahead of Saturday’s proposed protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar against SIR of electoral rolls and to seek the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
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Apart from nearly 15,000 Delhi police personnel, nearly 25,000 central force personnel would also be deployed to prevent the protest for which permission was denied by New Delhi range police on Friday.
The Delhi police denied permission for the October 10 protest citing public safety, law-and-order and traffic concerns, as well as alleged noncompliance with directions during an earlier protest. It also pointed out that the notice was submitted at the last minute rather than the required 10 days in advance under official guidelines. Earlier, CJP co-convener Saurav Das had on October 7 submitted an intimation letter and application to the Delhi Police regarding the planned demonstration.
Das and other CJP organizers, however, maintained that they were formally intimating the police rather than seeking permission, arguing that Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site and that the police’s role is to facilitate peaceful gatherings and handle traffic and law and order. CJP convener Abhijeet Dipke, however, said the protest will go ahead despite the ban and that organisers are prepared to face arrest. “What is this fear? Why are you so scared? You are scared of the youth in the country. You shut down trains, you shut down Metro, what should one do?” he said, questioning the restrictions imposed on commuters.
“Is Delhi a property of Narendra Modi or Amit Shah? Is this their ancestral property? Is this their paternal property?” he asked
Dipke questioned the need for police permission to protest at Jantar Mantar, calling it a designated protest site and citing Article 19 of the Constitution.
“Did Gyanesh Kumar take permission? Before deleting 13 crore votes, did Gyanesh Kumar take permission?” he asked, alleging that the electoral roll revision had resulted in large-scale deletion of votes.
Daring the authorities to arrest him, Dipke said CJP activists were prepared to face detention. “How many people will they detain? Arrest me, detain me! Saurabh is ready, Ashutosh is ready. Arrest me, detain me!” he said.
In a video posted on social media, Dipke and fellow activists Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka also mocked the transport curbs, with Dipke declaring: “Koi baat nahi, sir. Kal aa rahe hain hum, kal. Theek hai, see you tomorrow, bye.”
The current police mobilisation and denial of permission follows earlier CJP protests over the public examination system in June-July this year, which had drawn crowds to central Delhi and triggered clashes with police.
In view of the fear of a repeat of the July 22 violence, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Madhur Verma wrote in a post to security personnel on “X”: “Prepare for the storm. Practise restraint. Protect the peace. Because the true strength of the police is not merely in controlling a crowd, but in doing so with discipline, dignity and minimum force.”
The Union Home Ministry has made preparations to deny access to Jantar Mantar to the protesters through a range of measures. Around 23,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel have been made available to Delhi Police for deployment between October 8 and 12, taking their total number in Delhi to over 25,000. Of these, around 7,000 CRPF personnel have been brought in from Chhattisgarh and West Bengal with anti-riot equipment.
Prior to this Home Minister Amit Shah had cancelled his visits to Telangana, Meghalaya and Mizoram scheduled for October 4 and 5, as well as a proposed visit to Manipur on October 7, to be available in Delhi to monitor the situation since the CJP had on October 3 issued a call to its supporters to assembly in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the police have 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 prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar, Delhi Police has also asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to close entry and exit gates at 57 stations from Friday night until the situation normalises. Indian Railways has also cancelled several services scheduled to arrive at or depart from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. on October 10. (See accompanying stories) The police have also established multi-layered barricades and stepped up surveillance at Delhi’s entry points. Besides, CCTV monitoring and face-recognition systems have been activated or installed to identify troublemakers and monitor and record developments.
Police teams have also been checking hotel, hostel and guest-house registers and monitoring group travel bookings to identify possible movements of demonstrators.
