WATCH | Jantar Mantar protest: Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj among AAP leaders detained; around 500 protesters held over SIR row

AAP leader Atishi being taken away in a police van during a protest in New Delhi. Pic/X

Delhi Police on Friday detained Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and Sanjeev Jha, along with student activists, during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar.

A police official told news agency PTI that around 500 protesters were detained from and near the protest site. Earlier, an official had said the number of detainees was about 150. Meanwhile, AAP's Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP), Sanjay Singh, was stopped at North Avenue and was not allowed to proceed to the protest site.

Political parties and members of the All India Students' Association (AISA), the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and other student bodies also participated in the protest, demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged mass deletion of voters.

Delhi Police had not granted permission for the protest. In a video message, Bharadwaj said police told them that permission had not been granted, but questioned why permission was needed to hold a demonstration in a democracy when Jantar Mantar is a designated protest site. He also said the party had submitted letters seeking protest permission about a week earlier. Bharadwaj said, "We are exercising our democratic right to raise our concerns."

He said several Metro stations near Jantar Mantar had been closed and appealed to people to travel to the nearest open Metro station and, if possible, walk to the protest site. The Delhi Metro closed entry and exit at 12 stations, including Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, and Jantar Mantar. Internet services were also suspended at the protest site and in surrounding areas.

In posts on X, the AAP said that despite the peaceful protest, "Amit Shah ji's police" had arrested Bharadwaj, and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to be afraid of questions and to "come out and answer the nation." In another post, the party said "the vote thieves' Delhi Police" had arrested Bharadwaj and MLA Sanjeev Jha, and that arrests could suppress voices but not the people's questions. It said the movement would continue and asked supporters to reach Jantar Mantar and raise their voice peacefully.

The AAP also posted, "Gyanesh Kumar 'Vote Chor' Hai." In a further post, the party said Delhi Assembly Leader of Opposition Atishi, who was peacefully protesting against "vote theft", had been arrested, and that "the vote thief Gyanesh Kumar will have to resign."

A source in the police said around 700 people from SFI tried to reach Jantar Mantar and were stopped at the Ashoka Road roundabout, with many of them detained. SFI general secretary Aishe Ghosh said several DYFI and SFI activists were detained.

"Delhi Police is not being able to stop crimes in the capital but when it comes to protection of someone like Gyanesh Kumar, they get down on the streets," Ghosh said.

She added, "This is not democracy. If police think they can stop the movement by detaining us, we want to tell them that this is just the start."

Several NSUI activists were also detained from the site. Protesters were also seen crossing barricades at Firoz Shah Road.

(With PTI inputs)