Jantar Mantar Out Of Bounds, Delhi Streets Turn Protest Sites
By 5 pm, at least 3,000 protesters had been detained as police dispersed groups attempting to gather at several locations across the national capital.
New Delhi:With Jantar Mantar virtually sealed off by heavy security, streets and intersections across Delhi turned into makeshift protest sites on Saturday as demonstrators demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation tried to evade police barricades and regroup at different locations.
Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel, metal barricades and buses deployed across central Delhi prevented protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar, where the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had planned a mass demonstration against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
By 5 pm, at least 3,000 protesters had been detained as police dispersed groups attempting to gather at several locations across the national capital.
The protest, scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, soon turned into a series of smaller demonstrations as participants moved between Connaught Place, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Dilli Haat, Gole Market, INA Market and Minto Bridge in search of places to assemble.
Protesters raised slogans at different locations before police moved in to detain them. Some managed to evade security personnel and regroup elsewhere, relying on social media messages to coordinate their movements.
Similar scenes unfolded near Hanuman Mandir, Sansad Marg, Raisina Road, Imtiaz Khan Road, H.K.S. Surjeet Bhawan, the Safdarjung Airport flyover and Shivaji Stadium Metro station.
Several protesters were detained near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, while others were turned back as they attempted to reach the designated protest venue.
Unlike the CJP's July demonstration, when protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar before marching through the streets, Saturday's restrictions left participants struggling to identify meeting points.
"Last time, we were stationed at Jantar Mantar and then had to march. This time, there is so much confusion about when and where to come," a protester who had participated in the July agitation said.
The protester said participants were relying on social media posts for updates but risked detention even if they gathered in small groups.
The detention of CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka at Delhi airport earlier in the day added to the confusion.
Following their detention, Ajinkya Shinde, who was appointed the party's national organisation in-charge, urged demonstrators to continue protesting wherever police stopped them.
He called on supporters to march towards Jantar Mantar and begin demonstrations at the barricades if prevented from proceeding further.
The CJP has accused the Chief Election Commissioner of overseeing manipulation of electoral rolls during the SIR exercise and irregularities involving Form 6, which is used for voter registration.
Saturday's demonstration followed a series of Opposition protests in Delhi during the week, with the INDIA bloc planning another agitation on Monday.
The security restrictions also affected public transport, with Metro services disrupted, incoming trains suspended and mobile internet services blocked in parts of the national capital.
Despite repeated detentions and dispersals, small groups continued to gather at different locations through the afternoon. No violence was reported.
