The Delhi Police on Saturday detained 160 protesters, including senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, political activist Yogendra Yadav, AISA president Neha Bora and activist Anjali Bhardwaj, during a protest march demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Nearly two hours after the scheduled time of the protest, AISA national president Neha Bora, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj began leading the march amid heavy security presence in and around Jantar Mantar. A day after over 1,000 protesters were detained, several lawyers, activists and students gathered at the protest site as the agitation continued for a second day. AISA had issued a call for people to join the protest at 1 pm on Saturday. Meanwhile, Yogendra Yadav has called for a citizen’s march again on Sunday, October 4. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 also remained in force in the New Delhi district for a second consecutive day, with cops saying this was to ensure public safety, maintain public order and facilitate smooth traffic movement.
Police said no permission had been granted for any protest on October 3, and that “no prior intimation” of any such stir was received by the cops. Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav called for a citizen’s march on October 4, saying it was to protest against alleged “police brutality”. He urged people to “rise against anti-women SIR” and “rise against Delhi Police”. He also said the protest was against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
