New Delhi, Oct 10 Nearly 1,000 people were detained in various areas of the national capital on Saturday while they were going to join a protest led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, police said.
Security has been tightened in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) in view of the protest. Security has also been increased at Delhi’s borders. Delhi Police has taken several steps to prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar.
In response, the Indian Railways cancelled several trains arriving in New Delhi and rescheduled some trains. Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) closed the entry and exit gates of 45 metro stations.
On Friday, the police had said that permission had not been granted for the CJP protest. According to the police, the organizers did not comply with the assurances and legal instructions given during the previous protest.
Earlier on Saturday, CJP leaders Abhijeet Deepak, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were detained at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. The three leaders were on their way to protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral roll.
Policemen entered the plane after it landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport and detained Abhijeet Deepak and other leaders.
Deepke shared a video on social media showing Delhi Police personnel entering the plane. In the video, Deepak is heard telling the policemen, “I have come here to be arrested. Arrest me.” The CJP also announced the detention of the three leaders on its social media account.
Meanwhile, social media influencer Dhruv Rathee was also reportedly detained from his Gurugram residence. According to a post on CJP’s X account, around 50 plainclothes police officers arrived at Dhruv Rathee’s residence around 8 a.m. and took him into preventive custody.
Meanwhile, several opposition leaders protesting against alleged irregularities in the SIR (Serial Error) of the voter list were also detained. These included Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, party leader Gopal Rai, and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The protesters are demanding accountability for the alleged electoral irregularities and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
