Over 5,000 RAF personnel deployed as Delhi protests intensify; police bus window smashed

High drama unfolded in central Delhi on Sunday as protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified, with demonstrators breaking through police barricades, blocking buses carrying detainees and attempting to move towards Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel moved in to contain the protesters, with several people detained as the agitation entered its third consecutive day.

AAP workers and members of its student wing, the Association of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), gathered around India Gate before attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar. Visuals from the protest showed demonstrators pushing past barricades and surrounding police buses in an attempt to prevent vehicles carrying detained protesters from leaving the area.

Barricades breached

The situation escalated when a section of protesters managed to breach security barricades and move further towards Jantar Mantar. Police and RAF personnel formed additional lines to stop the crowd from advancing, while women protesters were seen climbing on top of a vehicle during the confrontation.

Protesters also blocked buses in which detained demonstrators had been placed, forcing security personnel to surround the vehicles. Police subsequently detained several protesters as they attempted to clear the area and restore movement around the buses.

Reports and visuals available so far confirm confrontations around the police vehicles and protesters blocking detainee buses. However, the specific claim that a police bus window was smashed during Sunday’s protest has not yet been independently confirmed in the latest reliable reports reviewed, and should therefore not be stated as established fact at this stage.

Saurabh Bharadwaj detained

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj was among those detained during Sunday’s protest. As police personnel took him away, Bharadwaj accused them of manhandling him, saying they were “picking me up and throwing me around like I am a football”.

Bharadwaj also linked Sunday’s demonstration to the controversy over allegations of sexual harassment made by three women journalists against Delhi Police personnel during Saturday’s Jantar Mantar protest. He questioned why police had not registered an FIR against the officer accused by one of the journalists even as a large force had been deployed against protesters. The allegations against police personnel remain under investigation and have not been established.

5,000 personnel deployed

Delhi Police had deployed around 5,000 personnel, including RAF and other paramilitary forces, ahead of two marches planned from India Gate to Jantar Mantar on Sunday. Police said permission had not been granted for either march but preparations were made for a potentially large turnout.

Multi-layered barricades were installed on routes leading to Jantar Mantar, including Tolstoy Marg, Janpath Road, Sansad Marg and the Kerala Bhawan side. Security was also tightened near Ashoka Road and C-Hexagon, while PCR vehicles were stationed on routes approaching the protest zone.

CCTV feeds were being monitored from the office of the DCP, New Delhi, while drones were kept ready for surveillance. Police and paramilitary personnel were equipped with anti-riot gear and the Union Home Ministry had been briefed about the arrangements.

Two marches called

The first mobilisation on Sunday was a Citizens’ March scheduled to begin at India Gate at 3 pm and proceed towards Jantar Mantar. Apart from the demand for Kumar’s resignation and objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, organisers also raised the treatment of women protesters and journalists during the previous day’s demonstration.

The Indian Youth Congress separately called for a march along the same route from 5 pm. Congress had urged supporters to gather at India Gate and march towards Jantar Mantar while reiterating its demand for the CEC’s resignation.

The Election Commission has rejected allegations that the SIR process was manipulated, while the BJP has defended the revision exercise as necessary to address anomalies in electoral rolls.

Third day of agitation

Sunday’s mobilisation followed two days of demonstrations in and around Jantar Mantar. Nearly 1,000 people were detained on Friday as political leaders, student organisations and civil society groups attempted to gather despite prohibitory orders and the absence of police permission. Many were subsequently released.

Around 150 protesters were detained on Saturday when activists again attempted to reach Jantar Mantar. Among those detained were Yogendra Yadav, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and AISA national president Neha Bora.

Police had invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita around the protest zone, prohibiting unauthorised assemblies, processions, sit-ins and sloganeering. Cases were also registered following Friday’s demonstration under provisions concerning disobedience of orders, obstruction of public servants and alleged use of criminal force against public servants.

Journalists’ complaints add to row

The agitation has meanwhile expanded beyond the original dispute over the Election Commission after three women journalists accused police personnel of sexual harassment while covering Saturday’s protest. One journalist has accused an assistant commissioner of police of sexually assaulting her during the demonstration. Delhi Police has transferred all three complaints to the Crime Branch for what it described as an impartial inquiry.

Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Brinda Karat, have questioned the handling of the complaints and demanded registration of an FIR. The allegations remain under investigation, and no finding establishing misconduct by the accused police personnel has yet been reported.

Pressure builds ahead of October 10

The fresh confrontation comes days before another protest planned by Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke. Following the large demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, Dipke called on supporters from across the country to converge on Jantar Mantar on October 10 if Kumar does not resign.

With protests continuing for a third day, around 5,000 security personnel deployed and fresh confrontations around India Gate, the agitation has widened from the original dispute over SIR into a broader confrontation involving the Election Commission, policing of demonstrations and allegations concerning the treatment of women protesters and journalists.