Police detain leaders and activists ahead of planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar

New Delhi: Several political leaders, activists, and journalists were detained across multiple cities on Saturday ahead of a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities.

Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces deployed more than 40,000 personnel across the national capital, turning the city into a fortress. Jantar Mantar was sealed off, restricting even media personnel entry, while connecting roads were barricaded. Security forces deployed loudspeakers at three key entry-exit points to broadcast warnings in Hindi and English against gatherings, processions, and road blockades under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Key figures from the CJP, including founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke, along with co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained directly from inside their plane upon landing at Delhi Airport. Another CJP member, Ratna Singh, was also among those detained.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Keralam announced on X that several of its senior leaders—including Pinarayi Vijayan, MA Baby, MV Govindan Master, A Vijayaraghavan, KK Shailaja, John Brittas MP, KN Balagopal, Brinda Karat, and PK Sreemathi—were detained upon arriving at Jantar Mantar.

Detentions also occurred outside the capital. Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, was detained in Mumbai, while Manish Sisodia was detained in Chandigarh.

Additionally, several journalists reported being detained while covering the events. They include Ayush Tiwari from Scroll, Ashwine Kumar Singh and Astha Savyasachi from Newslaundry, and Hritik Joshi and Rahul Charas from Navbharat Times.