NEW DELHI: Unprecedented security arrangements from central Delhi to the borders, phalanxes of 35,000 police and paramilitary personnel and a virtual choke on metro services and trains foiled Cockroach Janta Party’s march to Jantar Mantar on Saturday. The city, however, remained on edge, with young protesters being detained on their way to the protest site and bundled into buses and vans, kicking and screaming, through the day.With CJP’s Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das detained at the airport, the outfit’s national organisation in-charge, Ajinkya Shinde, was named to lead the protests. The computer science grad, a former AAP worker, said protests would continue till Gyanesh Kumar resigned as CEC.With top CJP functionaries being kept away from Jantar Mantar, small groups dodged security personnel and staged flash protests at Safdarjung flyover, Dilli Haat and Gurdwara Bangla Sahib complex, among other places.
The impromptu gathering near Safdarjung flyover by AISA national president Neha Bora, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, political commentator Yogendra Yadav, and several others caught police off-guard momentarily around 1pm. The protesters were eventually detained.It was obvious since Thursday that the call by CJP, supported by some political outfits, for a protest against the CEC and SIR at Jantar Mantar at 10am on Saturday would be met with stiff resistance. New Delhi was divided into 20 zones, with 1-2 companies of CAPF and Delhi Police deployed at every nook and corner. BSF was also present at the city’s borders.
Security arrangements may not see let-up today
Water cannons and tear-gas vehicles were kept ready. Multiple layers of barricades were erected and police personnel closely questioned people heading towards the New Delhi area, particularly in the direction of Jantar Mantar. Police said there were only some isolated incidents of minor confrontations. While three or four personnel, including women, were injured in incidents of stone-pelting and other skirmishes, a DCP fractured his hand, they said.Police claimed they had detained 2,500 people in the city — 600-700 people on stretches leading to Jantar Mantar, and others from different parts of Delhi, including the borders. The police figures were, however, hotly contested, with sources saying around 7,000 people were detained, counting those who were not allowed to leave their homes and were put under preventive detention.CJP’s Ajinkya Shinde, who will lead the protests now, alleged more than 15,000 people, including students, civil society members and political functionaries, had been illegally detained across the country. An undeclared emergency had been imposed in Delhi, he said.Police said apart from the fact that permission had not been given for the protest, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force, making the proposed gathering illegal.Four former chief ministers — Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, and Manik Sarkar of Tripura — were detained. CPM veteran Brinda Karat, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, and TMC functionaries Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen were also detained.
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Detained protesters were taken in buses to Chhatrasal Stadium, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Yamuna Sports Complex and Surajmal Stadium, all designated earlier for this purpose. Around 600 buses, including some from Third Battalion used to transport prisoners, were used to ferry those detained.Around 9pm, police claimed they had released everyone, but refused to respond when asked about Dipke, Ranka and Das. Multiple cases will be registered in connection with violation of prohibitory orders and assault, besides other sections, police said.With CJP sources saying they will continue their protests and Congress and other INDIA bloc parties planning a march in the city Monday, the security paraphernalia is likely to remain in place for the next few days.
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