AISA activists return to Jantar Mantar; 150 demonstrators detained during protest against CEC
New Delhi : Around 150 protesters, including All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora, activist Yogendra Yadav and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, were detained today as they marched from Patel Chowk towards Jantar Mantar to protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demand his resignation.
AISA members said senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Pallav Sisodia and Prashant Bhushan, along with activist Yogendra Yadav, joined Bora and other students during the march. Police began detaining protesters as they gathered near the protest site, with security personnel deployed at multiple points and barricades placed on roads leading towards Jantar Mantar.
AISA members said that a male police officer manhandled Bora during the police action and that another Delhi Police officer abused her..
The fresh mobilisation came after Bora, who was among those detained on Friday, called on activists to return to Jantar Mantar at 1 pm and continue their protest demanding Kumar’s resignation and raising concerns over the SIR of electoral rolls.
The development comes a day after nearly 1,000 protesters were detained from Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas as police and paramilitary personnel prevented large groups from reaching the protest site.
Delhi Police have registered at least three FIRs in connection with Friday’s protests, two at Parliament Street police station and one at Connaught Place police station, under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant.
The protesters are opposing the SIR exercise and irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. Delhi Police had denied permission for Friday’s gathering and imposed heightened security measures in central Delhi. Several roads were barricaded and entry and exit at a number of Metro stations in the vicinity of Jantar Mantar were temporarily restricted during Friday’s protest. The second day’s mobilisation saw continued police deployment around Jantar Mantar as AISA and other groups pressed ahead with their protest.
