Delhi Police detain dozens protesting against CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Students, activists and journalists among those detained at Jantar Mantar
New Delhi : Delhi Police manhandled and detained dozens of students, activists, journalists and citizens during a protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday demanding the resignation and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, amid growing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the protest was organized by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) Delhi unit along with civil society groups,
Popular YouTuber and journalist Mohammad Irfan was among those detained. In a short video message, Irfan said police threw away his journalist ID and microphone. He was released at night after remaining in detention for several hours. Also detained were AISA national president Neha Bora, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, and activists Yogendra Yadav and Anjali Bhardwaj, along with several activists of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party of India.
Reports said 14 people were detained at the Dwarka Sector 32 police station, 30 at Jafarpur Kalan including one minor, another 14 at Kanjhawala, 33 at Narela. One bus carrying protesters was also reportedly taken towards Badli in outer Delhi. Some of the activists recorded video statements while being detained in different police stations across the city.
Yogendra Yadav recorded a statement while being taken away with other activists on a police bus. He said they had not been told where they were being taken and that around 30 people, including women, were on the bus. He also said that they had not been offered water.
“Our only crime is that we raised our voice against the one who committed the biggest crime in the country – took away the right to vote of 10 crore people,” Yadav said. “Instead of catching criminals, the Delhi Police has taken all of us into custody to protect vote thieves,” Yadav said.
In a separate video statement, Anjali Bhardwaj said protesters had gathered peacefully to demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation but were taken away in three separate buses and driven around for several hours before being brought to the Dwarka police station.
Neha Bora said a separate group of students had been taken to the Kanjawala police station. “What was our crime? That we held the CEC accountable for his theft [of voters during the SIR]”, she said in her separate statement, released from the police station. “The constitution gives us the right to democratically dissent and that is why we had gathered at Jantar Mantar today,” Bora said.
She said protesters would continue returning to the site until their demands, including Kumar’s arrest, a halt to the SIR and restoration of voters deleted during this process.
Earlier in the day, scenes of chaos were witnessed at Jantar Mantar as police forces forcibly tried to end the protest. Reports said several demonstrators were manhandled and detained, while police blocked roads leading to and from the protest site.
“You can disrupt one demonstration and detain some of us, but the demand for resignation of Gyanesh Kumar which is now resonating across the country cannot be suppressed,” Dipankar Bhattacharya tweeted.
Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan condemned the police action, saying protesters had been detained by Delhi Police and transported to different locations in separate buses.
Activist and former Delhi University professor Nandita Narain, who was part of the protests, said that the Election Commission was “destroying the heart and soul of our democracy.” She said there had been a “centralised digital capture” of the electoral process, which was hand-picking voters.
Bhushan, in a separate post on X, said, “Clearly the government is in panic mode after the expose of the [Indian] Express about the brazenly illegal & unilateral functioning of Gyanesh Kumar & the growing demand for his resignation & prosecution.”
