Thousands detained across India ahead of Delhi protest against Chief Election Commissioner
Students, farmers and activists reportedly targeted over demand for Kumar’s resignation; “We won’t succumb to Modi’s psychotic behavior,” says Dipke
New Delhi : Indian authorities have launched widespread preventive detentions and imposed travel restrictions across the country ahead of a protest scheduled at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with reports indicating that at least 10,000 persons, including students, farmers and members of Dalit organisations, have been detained so far.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and several student and civil society organisations said that police were detaining people travelling to Delhi to stop them from taking part in the demonstration. They also reported restrictions on activists’ movements and said residents were being asked not to join the protest.
The protest, called by CJP, Left groups, student organisations and civil society activists, seeks demand Kumar’s resignation over irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands that the exercise be scrapped.
Leaders of the INDIA bloc, student unions and other organizations have been holding protests in Delhi since October 2.
In Maharashtra, the All India Students’ Federation leader Shravani Bua and her colleagues said that police stopped them from travelling to Delhi at Bhusawal railway station. The student union also said that around 22 women students travelling from Pune to Delhi were detained by Madhya Pradesh Police at Itarsi.
The CJP said that Rajasthan Police assaulted its national spokesperson Deepak Baliyan and detained him from his home in Alwar district. It added that four of its volunteers from Telangana were detained in Bhopal while travelling to Delhi. The party also said that the police entered the home of its north zone coordinator in Delhi’s South Extension area.
In Delhi, Students’ Federation of India leader Aishe Ghosh said that police entered the organisation’s national office carrying sticks. She also shared a video that showed the organisation’s national vice-president, Satyesha, under house arrest in Gujarat.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Alarming AISF leader Shravni Bua has uploaded this on her social media. On her way to Delhi with her colleagues, they have been picked up from Jhasi railway station. The student leaders say they don’t know where they are being taken https://t.co/jGgouv89KX</p>— Parth MN (@parthpunter) <a href=”https://x.com/parthpunter/status/2108185834289795444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 8, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Since late Thursday night, Delhi Police have made public announcements near the Indian Parliament, warning that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was in force. The section prohibits gatherings, processions and other activities in specified circumstances. Police also warned of legal action against violators.
The Print reported that police visited mosques and asked religious leaders to discourage people from joining the protest.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday that the protesters would proceed with the march to Jantar Mantar despite the detentions and restrictions. Addressing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke said: “If you want to jail us or even shoot us, we are prepared. We won’t succumb to your psychotic behaviour.”
The protests follow concerns raised by an investigation by The Indian Express on September 23, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions by the Election Commission related to the SIR, saying some had been taken without their knowledge.
The report said the commissioners had raised objections to changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. Form 6 is used to register new voters.
In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as having stated that the poll panel had acted against the advice of both commissioners and described the action as “unauthorised and illegal”. The two election commissioners had also raised concerns over access to the digital electoral roll database, the report said.
Since the exercise began in June 2025, the SIR has faced questions about the manner and pace of its implementation, amid concerns that it could deny genuine electors their right to vote and shape election outcomes. Opposition parties have also demanded Kumar’s removal.
Critics have condemned the reported detentions and travel restrictions, saying the BJP-led government is using state machinery to suppress public criticism and obstruct peaceful political mobilization. They argue that restricting citizens’ movement and targeting student leaders and youth organizations raises serious concerns about constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. They have called on international human rights organisations to hold the Indian government accountable for using state coercion to crush peaceful political protests.
