The protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar will resume on Saturday at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, with the All India Students' Association (AISA) urging demonstrators to join the gathering. Police have beefed up security arrangements ahead of the mass gathering.
Members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Opposition parties, student unions and several activists protested on Friday in Delhi and Mumbai, demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation amid alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and mass deletion of voters.
Police are asking for identification cards of those travelling to Jantar Mantar from Janpath, Ashoka Road or Parliament Street. Protesters have been denied permission to protest at Jantar Mantar. No one without a valid reason is allowed to proceed, said sources.
Over 700 protesters were detained by Delhi Police as agitators marched towards the protest site. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) political leaders, including Atishi, Sanjay Singh, AISA chief Neha Bora and other activists including Yogendra Yadav, were detained during demonstrations.
CJP has issued a fresh ultimatum to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, warning of nationwide agitation if he fails to resign. "If Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10...If Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar," said Abhijeet Dipke in a post on Friday.
Around 5,000 police personnel were deployed at Jantar Mantar in response to the demonstration. Protesters shared videos online showing uniformed officers without visible nameplates, while authorities enforced Section 163 and suspended internet services around the protest site.
Scuffle broke out in Mumbai after protest
A scuffle broke out near Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar after CJP supporters returned from a protest at Shivaji Park.
A video from the spot showed protesters allegedly hitting each other. Mumbai Police had to intervene and bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, a 75-year-old Thane resident died after suffering a heart attack while attending the CJP protest at Shivaji Park. The deceased was identified as Gopalakrishna Subbaiya Pillai, a resident of Dosti West County in Thane.
Pillai arrived at the protest site at around 4 p.m. An hour later, he complained of chest pain and collapsed. He was rushed to Sushrusha Hospital, where doctors were unable to revive him.
