New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) declared on Saturday, October 10, that “Jantar Mantar 2.0” has begun. The party is demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and is calling for structural reforms within the Election Commission of India.
02:30 pm: Trinamool Congress leaders including former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee were detained in Delhi during their dharna at a bus stop.
MPs Derek O’ Brien, Dola Sen, Pratima Mondal were among those surrounded by Delhi Police at South Avenue.
Delhi Police detains around 500 protestors
02:16 pm: Delhi Police on Saturday detained around 500 protesters, who were trying to reach Jantar Mantar for the proposed demonstration against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Sources told PTI the protestors were detained across the New Delhi area, where police are using drones to monitor movement of people attempting to reach the protest site.
Police sources said over 600 people with criminal records were also detained across all 15 districts of the national capital as part of preventive measures.
SCBA expresses concern over ‘detention’ of lawyers, urges CJI to intervene
02:10 pm: The Supreme Court Bar Association on Saturday condemned the reported use of “excessive force” against lawyers and requested Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to urgently intervene in the matter.
The lawyers were on their way to Jantar Mantar where the CJP has called for a protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, according to PTI.
“The Supreme Court Bar Association resolves to request the Chief Justice of India to intervene urgently and take up the matter with the concerned authorities so that the whereabouts and safety of every detained advocate are ascertained, they are given access to legal assistance, and those against whom there are no lawful grounds for detention are released immediately,” the resolution said.
Neha Bora detained, protesters surround police bus
02:02 pm: AISA president Neha Bora has reportedly been detained, while other protesters surrounded the Delhi Police bus to block it from moving.
CJP stir marked by protesters hiding in gurudwara, sporting cockroach helmets
02:00 pm: From protesters raising slogans and dodging police by hiding in gurudwara detention to sporting cockroach-antennae helmets, the proposed CJP stir against CEC Gyanesh Kumar saw dramatic scenes in the national capital on Saturday, with police detaining around 500 people amid heavy security deployment.
Despite heavy police deployment, protesters continued to gather at different locations and raise slogans against the police before being chased and detained.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, but security personnel prevented participants from reaching Jantar Mantar, where prohibitory orders are in force. Several protesters were detained from various locations, including near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, while many others were sent back.
AISA moves protest to Dilli Haat
01:57 pm: All India Students’ Association called on protesters to reach Dilli Haat, saying it has become their Jantar Mantar.
Stone pelting at police personnel near Akashwani Bhawan; 2 cops injured
01:34 pm: Protesters allegedly stone-pelted security personnel at Imtiaz Ali Marg near Akashwani Bhawan after toppling barricades during the proposed CJP stir against Gyanesk Kumar, officials said.
Around noon, 25 to 30 protesters jumped barricades on Imtiaz Ali Marg and stone-pelleted at security personnel, they said, adding that some of them have been detained and two police personnel were injured in the process.
Protesters detained, in photos:
Dipke in a pre-recorded video says Ajinkya Shinde to lead protest
01:18 pm: In a pre-recorded video uploaded on X, Abhijeet Dipke informed that CJP National Organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde will be leading the protest at Jantar Mantar after he was detained from his flight.
“Hello everyone, if you’re watching this video iska Matlab hai ki Mai, Ashu aur Saurav hum teeno arrest ho chuke hai. Hamare baad iss movement ko Ajinkya lead karega,” Dipke said in the video.
“Aap jitne bhi videos dekh rahe hai, please follow Ajinkya Shinde. He will be carrying forward the Cockraoch Janta Party after Ashutosh, me, and Saurav. Thankyou,” Dipke said.
Limited information is available about Dipke’s movement or his whereabouts, with CJP alleging that him, alongside co-conveneros Das and Ranka are being taken to undisclosed locations.
The outfit said the three leaders are being “denied access to their lawyers and cut off from all contact with others.”
“WHY NOT JUST DECLARE AN EMERGENCY?” they wrote on X.
Don’t know if he is still at airport: Anish Gwande
01:10 pm: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson Anish Gwande, who was on the same flight as Dipke, said he hopes the police does not use excessive force against the CJP leaders.
“We hope that the Police will not use excessive violence or force. We hope that the Police will treat young people of this country as equal citizens, rather than criminals who deserve to be punished,” he told reporters.
He claimed that police officers boarded the aircraft and took Dipke away, causing inconvenience to other passengers.
We do not even know whether he (Dipke) has been brought out of the airport or is still there,” he added.
Stalin backs CJP’s proposed stir in Jantar Mantar, says ‘dissent not crime’
12:54 pm: Ahead of the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, DMK president MK Stalin said “dissent is not a crime”, and that democracy cannot survive by silencing those who rise to defend it.
He alleged that the scenes unfolding in Delhi and the “scale of repression being unleashed against peaceful protesters,” brings him back the painful memories of the infamous Emergency (1975-77) that he lived through.
Mediapersons display press cards from detainment buses
12:45 pm: Mediapersons and reporters showed their press cards from detainment buses after Delhi Police cracked down on journalists before the protest began at Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police use lathis to disperse SFI protesters
12:35 pm: Delhi Police were seen using lathis to disperse peaceful protesters, Student Federation of India said on Saturday, adding the authorities “unleashed a barbaric attack on them.”
“This act is a clear violation of all democratic rights of a citizen as guaranteed by the constitution. We urge everyone to condemn this heinous move of the state police forces,” SFI said on X.
GenZ deserves better than undeclared Emer-GenZ: Shashi Tharoor
12:34 pm: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he has rarely seen anything like what Delhi is witnessing now. “With checkpoints every few hundred metres, concrete barriers and spike strips laid across our roads, a war-like deployment of 22,000 police and paramilitary across the city, 250 trains cancelled and 45 metro stations closed, and reports of young people being detained from their own homes and the streets in and around Delhi — all to prevent citizens from peacefully raising questions about the integrity of our elections.”
3 Newslaundry reporters detained, phones seized
12:20 pm: Newslaundry said three of its have been detained while covering the protest. Their official company phones were also taken from them.
Undeclared Emergency: Bombay Lawyers Association condemn restrictions
12:15 pm: Terming it an undeclared emergency, the Bombay Lawyers Association condemned the prohibitory restrictions on the CJP-called protests and individual movement. They demanded an immediate removal of the restrictions imposed by the Union and state governments since they are “unconstitutional and unlawful activities.”
“In the backdrop of banning protests by use of unconstitutional means by the government authorities by imposing undeclared emergency, it reminds us days of emergency days,” the association said.
Journalists without PIB accreditation obstructed
12:09 pm: Authorities are reportedly refusing to let journalists pass without a proper Press Information Bureau accredition, with some reporters claiming they were taken to a police station. The Delhi Police told the detained reporters they were required to “authenticate” their press cards and government documents.
Delhi Police detain CJP policy head
12:01 pm: CJP’s Policy Lead Mehr Pasricha said she was detained as well by the Delhi Police, with her vehicle surrounded by several officers. When questioned about it, the police reportedly cited “law and order situation” claiming she needed to be taken for interrogation.
Kavya Karnatac and crew held by Delhi Police
11:42 am: Popular digital creator, independent journalist, and KK Create founder Kavya Karnatac was reportedly detained alongside her crew by Delhi Police while traveling to report on today’s Jantar Mantar demonstration.
The protest was organized to oppose the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CPI(M) leaders detained ahead of march
11:30 am: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders, including General Secretary MA Baby were detained before they reached the Jantar Mantar protest site.
Centre resorting to dictatorship: Ambedkar’s grandson
11:09 am: Extending his support to the CJP protest Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Saturday accused the Centre of resorting to “dictatorship” to suppress peaceful agitations.
Ambedkar called for a gathering at Hutatma Chowk in south Mumbai to express solidarity with the protest in the national capital.
“Political parties have the right to protest, but the way attempts are being made to suppress this agitation amounts to dictatorship,” said the VBA leader, who is the grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar.
CJP leaders detained inside plane
10:50 am: Delhi Police personnel boarded a flight upon landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport and detained CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alongside co-convenors Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.
Recording the entire incident, Dipke said, “They are not letting others deboard the flight. They are causing inconvenience.”
Videos posted by the leaders on their Instagram account show officers attempting to convince the trio to come with them while they resist. “Hello ma’am aap yaha kaise agaye?” Dipke asked a woman officer.
“This is dictatorship; even Indira Gandhi had not done this during the Emergency,” he added.
Ranka subsequently began chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Inquilaab Zindabad.”
Passengers on the flight could be heard complaining that they had connecting flights and the police action was delaying their plans.
CJP condemns Dhruv Rathee’s detention
10:45 am: The outfit demanded that Dhruv Rathee and hundreds of other youths, who were detained while still on their way to the Jantar Mantar protest site, be released immediately.
In a statement, the CJP termed the detention a part of an “aggressive, citywide government crackdown designed to silence democratic dissent regarding electoral roll irregularities.”
“The CJP demands the immediate and unconditional release of Rathee, and the hundreds of other citizens and student activists currently held in custody,” it said.
“Jantar Mantar 2.0 has begun. Gyanesh Kumar, your time of facilitating vote chori is over,” the outfit that was born online and was instrumental in ex-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation weeks ago said on X.
Abhijeet Dipke arrives in Delhi
10:42 am: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has arrived in Delhi amid barricades at the airport. Ahead of his arrival in Delhi, Dipke questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking why he was closing the national capital to save “one Gyanesh Kumar.”
“I fail to understand how Narendra Modi can shut down the entire national capital just to shield one man, Gyanesh Kumar. You have halted railway services, shut down the metro, blocked all roads, suspended the internet,” Dipke said.
He added, “We have to save the democracy; we will keep fighting for that cause.”
Barricades at Delhi airport before Dipke’s arrival
10:20 am: Security personnel at Delhi airport began barricading Terminal 3, reportedly in preparation for Abhijeet Dipke’s arrival. While departing from Mumbai, Dipke told ANI news agency that was “ready to go to jail,” and that threatening the CJP with imprisonment will not work.
“If you think you can stop us by threatening us with jail or trying to intimidate us with the fear of imprisonment, you are mistaken. We are ready to go to jail. If you want to imprison us, go ahead—impose the NSA, the UAPA, or whatever laws you wish—but we will continue to fight to save this country’s democracy.”
CJP legal head detained outside residence
10:06 am: CJP’s legal head Ratna Singh has been detained outside her residence in Delhi, with her claiming that the Delhi Police is barring her from going anywhere.
A video posted by CJP on X shows Ratna saying that authorities arrived at her residence in the morning without carrying an official notification.
“CJP legal affairs head Ratna Singh is being held inside a car, surrounded by 35 cops and the DCP, who are refusing to let her out. They are moving to the CMM Court,” CJP said.
Delhi Police detain Dhruv Rathee in Gurgaon
10:00 am: YouTuber and activist Dhruv Rathee was reportedly detained by the police from his place of stay in Gurugram ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest.
Citing sources, PTI news agency said Rathee was detained by Delhi Police from his residence in Sector 56, Gurugram.
More protestors detained
9:27 am: Delhi Police have detained several protesters, who were trying to reach Jantar Mantar for the proposed CJP demonstration to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Police are using drones to monitor protesters attempting to reach the protest site.
Sources said several protesters on the way to Jantar Mantar have been detained this morning but did not specify the exact number.
Delhi Police detained several protesters who were trying to reach Jantar Mantar for the proposed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, though sources did not say how many. Drones are being used to track protesters heading towards the site.
Police sources also said more than 600 people with criminal records were detained across all 15 districts of the capital as a preventive measure, to ensure no law-and-order situation arises during the protest.
‘Suspicious’ youth detained, stadiums become detention centre
8:40 am: Delhi Police have reportedly detained at least 10 students ahead of the CJP protest, the first detentions of the day. CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka claimed on Friday, October 9, that thousands of volunteers had been picked up in different states while heading to Delhi, and videos shared by CJP accounts purportedly show police detaining young people on trains bound for the capital.
The Delhi police have reportedly shortlisted three stadiums in the city to be turned into detention centres for those attempting to participate in the protest, HT reported.
Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar given body cams
8:20 am: Delhi Police personnel have been fitted with body cameras, which can also record in low light, as part of the security arrangements for Saturday’s CJP protest. An officer told news agency ANI that the cameras are meant to protect both police and the public, and would settle allegations of manhandling that are often levelled against the force. “This will record everything,” the officer said.
Around 7,000 protesters are expected to arrive in the national capital on Saturday, with senior officers directing personnel to exercise maximum restraint and handle the situation professionally.
Unprecedented security blanket
8:10 am: Around 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed, with more than 120 companies of Central Armed Police Forces assisting, and the New Delhi district has been divided into 20 zones for monitoring. Entry and exit gates at 45 Delhi Metro stations, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Mandi House and Supreme Court, have been shut since Friday night, and several trains to and from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations have reportedly been cancelled.
Police are checking vehicles at the city’s borders and inspecting hotels and lodges, and are reportedly scrutinising more than 200 content creators over posts linked to the protest. Liquor shops across the city will stay closed on Saturday.
Traffic restrictions in Delhi
8:00 am Stringent traffic restrictions came into force across Delhi from 6 am on Saturday, with diversions at key points including Connaught Place, Mandi House, Patel Chowk and the Ashoka Road-Jantar Mantar Road roundabout, according to Delhi Traffic Police. Large numbers of police personnel manned barricades and checked some vehicles, though traffic was reportedly moving smoothly early in the morning.
Entry and exit gates at several metro stations have been closed since 9 pm on Friday, and a 24-hour mobile internet suspension in central Delhi took effect at 10 pm on Friday. Commuters have been advised to avoid non-essential travel, and police said the restrictions would be tightened or relaxed based on real-time assessment of the situation.
The Delhi protest follows a rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2, where thousands gathered despite police restrictions. Dipke said that if Kumar did not step down, “cockroaches from across India” would march to Delhi. He has said the agitation will be peaceful, and that if Delhi Police stop the protesters, “wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar.”
The build-up has been tense. Dipke alleged on Tuesday, October 6, that Maharashtra Police served notices on CJP volunteers, including in Chandrapur, asking them to stay away from the protest and questioning their travel funding. Police have reportedly described the notices as preventive. Dipke, spokesperson Saurav Das and co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka have also claimed they could be arrested before the protest, though no such order has been publicly confirmed.
The party says it informed Delhi Police about the gathering by submitting a letter at the Parliament Street police station. However, Delhi Police have denied permission for the protest and placed the capital under heavy security.
The Delhi Police has also restricted access to Jantar Mantar, and even media personnel have been denied entry to the protest site.
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