Around 6,000 people were detained across New Delhi yesterday as Indian authorities imposed sweeping security restrictions to prevent a major protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, triggering a political confrontation over electoral integrity and the right to peaceful assembly.
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, student leaders, activists, lawyers and prominent online personalities were among those detained as thousands of police and paramilitary personnel effectively sealed off central Delhi.
The unprecedented security operation prevented protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar, where the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had called a mass demonstration against alleged manipulation of electoral rolls.
According to The Indian Express, around 6,000 people had been detained by 7pm, although police began releasing some detainees later in the evening.
The crackdown followed weeks of demonstrations over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has seen approximately 130 million names removed from draft voter lists across 30 states and Union Territories.
Opposition parties allege that the exercise has disenfranchised eligible voters and favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission and the ruling party deny the allegations.
Opposition leaders detained
Mamata Banerjee was detained alongside several Trinamool Congress lawmakers after staging a sit-in near the South Avenue bus stand when police prevented them from proceeding towards Jantar Mantar.
Among those detained with her were Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Saket Gokhale and Pratima Mondal.
Banerjee later alleged that police had forcibly placed them in a detention van and driven them between police stations for nearly two hours.
She said the experience left them feeling as though they had been kidnapped.
Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party leader, was also detained while attempting to join the demonstration. He was released from Jafarpur Kalan police station in the evening.
Former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, activist Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan and All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora were among others detained.
Police also detained prominent YouTuber Dhruv Rathee from his residence in Gurugram, according to Indian media reports.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and fellow organisers Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained inside an aircraft shortly after arriving in Delhi from Mumbai.
Their detention prompted the movement to appoint Ajinkya Shinde to coordinate yesterday’s protests.
With senior organisers unable to reach the demonstration site, protesters attempted to regroup at several locations across the capital.
Capital brought to a standstill
The authorities deployed around 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel, erected extensive barricades and imposed restrictions on public transport ahead of the demonstration.
Forty-five metro stations remained closed yesterday evening, while mobile internet services were suspended within a four-kilometre radius of the protest area.
Long-distance train services were also disrupted, and police established checkpoints along major roads and entry routes into the capital.
Jantar Mantar, normally a designated site for demonstrations, was surrounded by security forces before protesters could assemble.
As a result, smaller demonstrations emerged around Connaught Place, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Dilli Haat, INA Market and other locations.
Police repeatedly dispersed gatherings and transported detainees to police stations, stadiums and temporary holding facilities.
The authorities said the demonstration had not been authorised because organisers failed to submit their application within the required notice period and had violated conditions imposed during previous protests.
Prohibitory orders were also enforced under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Protest organisers rejected the restrictions, arguing that peaceful assembly was a constitutional right.
Police reported that six personnel were injured during disturbances, including incidents of alleged stone-pelting. The circumstances of the injuries were being investigated.
Supreme Court questions sweeping restrictions
The security measures also drew scrutiny from India’s Supreme Court.
On Friday, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned the blanket restrictions on metro and railway services, observing that public-order measures must remain proportionate.
The court called for the restrictions to be reconsidered and for essential public transport to operate under appropriate regulation.
Despite the intervention, extensive restrictions remained in place during Saturday’s demonstrations.
The Supreme Court Bar Association separately sought intervention over the detention of lawyers, including women advocates, who had attempted to join the protests.
The crackdown also drew criticism from international rights organisations.
Amnesty International called for the release of people detained solely for exercising their rights to expression and peaceful assembly.
The Committee to Protect Journalists urged authorities to release detained journalists and allow reporters to cover the protests without interference.
Why the protests erupted
At the centre of the confrontation is a controversy over India’s electoral-roll revision process.
The SIR exercise, launched in Bihar in June 2025 and subsequently expanded, is intended to identify duplicate entries, deceased voters and people no longer eligible to remain on electoral rolls.
However, opposition parties argue that the process has resulted in the wrongful exclusion of eligible voters.
The controversy intensified after a September 23 investigation by The Indian Express revealed that two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions concerning voter registration, deletions, appeals and electoral-roll software.
The investigation reported that some decisions had been taken without the commissioners’ knowledge or approval.
The Election Commission acknowledged the existence of the notes but described them as part of its internal decision-making process, maintaining that its formal decisions were unanimous.
The BJP also rejected accusations of electoral manipulation.
On October 6, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the 130 million names removed from draft rolls included approximately 28 million deceased voters, 63 million people who had shifted residence, 10 million duplicate entries and 30 million people who could not be traced.
The party stressed that removals from draft rolls did not necessarily represent final exclusions.
Amid the controversy, the Election Commission ordered special enrolment drives in states where the revision had been completed to help eligible voters whose names were left out.
Nevertheless, the dispute has continued to fuel nationwide protests.
An India Today analysis found 278 demonstrations concerning the Election Commission across 26 states between late September and October 2.
Political confrontation deepens
The BJP defended yesterday’s police operation, accusing opposition parties of encouraging disorder.
Party spokesperson Sambit Patra described the protest as unsuccessful, while Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta accused opposition leaders of attempting to disrupt public life.
