Delhi Police detain MPs, Left leaders amid Jantar Mantar protest crackdown
New Delhi: Delhi Police detained several leaders of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), including two Indian parliamentarians, as they attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protesters were also opposing the denotification of Jantar Mantar as a designated protest venue and the suppression of democratic dissent.
Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers and members stormed the Parliament Street Police Station over what they described as a brutal police crackdown on student protesters. Reports also said that protesters affiliated with the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the IYC had been detained.
Left leaders, MPs detained
Left-wing student and youth organisations SFI and DYFI also attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar from Ferozeshah Road but were stopped at police barricades and subsequently detained.
Student activists have taken to social media, vowing that Jantar Mantar “shall be reclaimed” and asserting that their protest movement was gaining strength as more people joined it.
Those detained and taken to an undisclosed location included MPs V. Sivadasan and A.A. Rahim, SFI national president Adarsh M. Saji, DYFI Central Secretariat member Jaick C. Thomas and SFI Central Executive Committee member Abhijith.
“Along with them hundreds of students and youngsters were arrested and taken to unknown location,” the SFI said in a post on X.
On October 12, Jantar Mantar was denotified as a designated protest site amid a police crackdown on demonstrators seeking to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
An executive magistrate’s court today remanded Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das to five days of judicial custody on trespassing charges. The two had reportedly managed to enter Jantar Mantar on Tuesday and wave the Indian flag.
Earlier crackdown, public disruptions
Thousands of people, including minors, journalists and lawyers, were reportedly beaten and detained during protests across New Delhi on October 10 and 11.
In the days leading up to the first planned demonstration on October 10, Delhi Police erected multiple layers of barricades to prevent protesters from reaching designated protest areas.
Restrictions remained in place, with reports of commuters facing difficulties due to police diversions and reduced bus availability. Buses were reportedly being used to transport detained protesters and deploy police personnel, further disrupting public transport in the Indian capital.
