Detentions of protesters continue in Delhi despite Supreme Court restrictions

Indian police continued to detain protesters in New Delhi on Sunday, despite a Supreme Court order barring detention of peaceful demonstrators, as student groups and politicians launched protests for the second day against alleged “vote theft.”

The election irregularities favoured the ruling BJP, the protest groups including Congress and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have alleged, and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar for his suspected role in the “rigging.”

Around a 100 protesters, including CPI(M) leader John Brittas and student activist Neha Bora, were detained from around Connaught Place in New Delhi on Sunday.

Three Express Hindi journalists have also been detained at Connaught Place, and their phones have been snatched by the Delhi Police.

The group of protesters marched from Rajiv Chowk gate 1 and made their way to the LIC building when officers started detaining people. Some have been detained while others ran away.

CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released on Sunday, following their preventive arrest a day earlier, on the condition that they would not “breach peace” for one year. Dipke said he was returning home after his grandmother’s death.

On Sunday, CJP leaders renewed their attack on the BJP-led government at a press conference. Criticising the security arrangements, they said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “should be ashamed” for allowing the situation to turn into a “war-like” scenario, after around 7,000 were detained and internet services were cut in parts of Delhi on Saturday.

Addressing the press conference, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said, “An atmosphere of fear has been created in country, it’s clearly being done to save one person. We want to ask Modi and Shah, why are you trying to save Gyanesh Kumar?”

Das questioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court over alleged custodial violence against protesters detained during the demonstrations in Delhi.

He also alleged that right-wing groups were being mobilised by the BJP, while police were registering cases against protesters instead.

He also questioned the Delhi security restrictions during Saturday’s protest, asking why “millions of people” were inconvenienced to protect Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Das accused the government of targeting journalists amid the protests in Delhi, alleging that independent journalists were being detained for asking police personnel to display their name tags.

CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka on Sunday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of shielding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the party’s protest against the Election Commission.

“Narendra Modi is the biggest coward of India, an embarrassment to India,” Ranka said at a press conference, alleging that the Prime Minister had made it clear he would protect Kumar “at all costs”. He added that the fight against the Election Commission and Kumar had now been extended to Modi and Shah.

Das criticised the security arrangements in Delhi, claiming that 30,000–40,000 personnel had been deployed, including BSF personnel brought in from border areas and forces from Naxal-affected regions. He also alleged that 57 Metro stations were restricted, railway services were shut and shops were closed.

Das said the government had mistakenly believed the measures would turn public opinion against the protesting youth. “But this is a mistake because the whole country is watching this barbarity,” he said.

Opposition leaders and activists, including Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan, Neha Bora, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, were detained in Delhi on Saturday as protests against the Election Commission ran into a near-lockdown. Around 7,000 people had been detained across the capital, and no protester was allowed to reach Jantar Mantar.

The Supreme Court on Sunday directed the government to ensure Delhi Metro services operate on their normal schedule and that internet services remain uninterrupted amid protests. The court also ordered avoiding detention of “unarmed and peaceful” demonstrators. The arrests continued anyway.