The sweeping security crackdown across the national capital intensified on Saturday afternoon, October 10, as Delhi Police detained All India Students’ Association (AISA) national president Neha Bora, prominent political commentator Yogendra Yadav, and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan.
The detentions took place near Dilli Haat after leaders and demonstrators shifted their assembly points following a total security lockdown and heavy sealing of the original protest venue at Jantar Mantar.
Protests Shift to Dilli Haat Following Jantar Mantar Blockade
With Jantar Mantar completely cordoned off by multi-layered barricades, spike strips, and thousands of security personnel, civil society members and student groups attempted to regroup and march toward Dilli Haat.
Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan had joined AISA leader Neha Bora and CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya to lead the alternate mobilization demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
As police intercepted the march, closing connecting roads around the venue, demonstrators briefly surrounded a police transport bus carrying detained leaders near the Safdarjung Airport flyover.
Massive Preventive Sweep Across the Capital
Saturday’s detentions of prominent civil society and student figures add to an escalating wave of preventive actions executed by the Delhi Police and central forces:
* CJP Leadership Intercepted: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained directly inside their incoming aircraft at IGI Airport early Saturday morning.
- High-Profile Political Detentions: Opposition figures including AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee (who staged a sit-in protest near South Avenue) were also detained or restricted by authorities.
- Thousands Held: According to police sources, over 5,000 protesters and activists have been detained across various districts and border checkpoints since Friday night, with holding facilities established at multiple sports complexes in the city.
Despite the large-scale detentions and massive deployment of security forces, student bodies and supporting organizations have vowed to continue their peaceful push against the Election Commission’s controversial electoral roll revisions.