02/10/2026
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02/10/2026
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NEW DELHI, Oct 2: More than 700 protesters were detained by Delhi Police on Friday as opposition leaders, student groups and activists gathered in and around Jantar Mantar to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Police had denied permission for the gathering and imposed prohibitory restrictions across the New Delhi district. Around 4,000 police personnel, including central forces, were deployed, while barricades were placed at multiple entry points leading to Jantar Mantar. Police buses and anti-riot vehicles were also positioned in the area.
As protesters attempted to reach the designated protest area, police detained people in several rounds. The detained included Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha and Sanjay Singh, along with CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby, senior leader Brinda Karat, RJD leader Manoj Jha, activist Yogendra Yadav, and leaders and members of AISA, SFI, DYFI and NSUI.
Videos and photographs showed police personnel taking protesters into buses as the crowds attempted to move toward Jantar Mantar. The Indian Express reported that police repeatedly pushed back groups of protesters and detained those gathering in larger numbers.
Protesters raised slogans demanding Kumar's resignation and questioning the Election Commission's handling of the SIR exercise. The demonstrations were held on Gandhi Jayanti, with students, lawyers, professors and political activists among those participating.
The SIR has become a major political controversy, with opposition parties and civil society groups alleging that the voter-roll revision could exclude eligible voters. The Election Commission has denied wrongdoing. Recent reports have also said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections on several occasions concerning decisions related to the SIR; the Election Commission has maintained that its decisions, including those concerning the revision exercise, were taken unanimously.
Authorities also imposed major restrictions on movement around central Delhi. Internet services were suspended in parts of the area, while multiple Delhi Metro stations were closed during the demonstrations. Reports varied during the day on the number detained, with early reports putting the figure at around 500 before police and later media reports cited more than 700.
The protests were not limited to Delhi. Demonstrations were also held in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Patna and other cities, with protesters demanding greater transparency over the electoral roll revision and calling for Kumar's resignation
