Sibal, Bhushan, Yadav among protesters detained during march to Jantar Mantar

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav were among those who joined a fresh protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi on Saturday, with police detaining around 150 protesters as they attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar.

The demonstration, led by student activists and civil society groups, was held for the second consecutive day with protesters demanding Kumar's resignation and raising concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. AISA national president Neha Bora, who was detained during Friday's protest as well, was also among those taken into custody on Saturday.

According to police, the protesters had not been granted permission to hold the demonstration at Jantar Mantar. As the marchers moved from the Patel Chowk area towards the protest site, security personnel stopped them near Jantar Mantar Road after they crossed an initial line of barricades and subsequently took several protesters away in buses. Besides Sibal, Bhushan and Yadav, AISA members said senior advocates Nitya Ramakrishnan and Pallav Sisodia also participated in the march. Student activists were seen raising slogans as police moved in to disperse and detain the protesters.

The Saturday mobilisation followed Bora's call for protesters to return to Jantar Mantar at 1 pm after Friday's crackdown, when large numbers of students, political leaders and civil society activists were stopped from reaching the designated protest area. The police action came amid heightened security across central Delhi. Authorities have imposed prohibitory orders in the New Delhi district, restricting gatherings and processions without prior written permission, while additional police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed and barricades erected at several points leading towards Jantar Mantar.

Delhi Police has also registered at least three FIRs over Friday's protest. Two cases were lodged at Parliament Street police station and one at Connaught Place police station. The cases invoke provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 223 concerning alleged disobedience of an order issued by a public servant, besides provisions relating to obstruction or use of force against public servants and acts allegedly committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention.

Police said no individual or organisation has been named as an accused in the FIRs, though the contents refer to organisers and groups that had proposed or participated in the demonstrations. Friday's protest had seen hundreds of people detained from Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas after they attempted to reach the site. Those detained included several AAP leaders, RJD MP Manoj Jha, CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh, AISA's Bora and Yadav, besides leaders of youth and student organisations. Many of those detained were subsequently released.

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