DELHI TURNS INTO A SECURITY FORTRESS AS SIR PROTESTERS BLOCKED FROM JANTAR MANTAR
October 3, 2026
RJD and AAP leaders, student activists and civil society campaigners were among hundreds detained as police sealed routes to the designated protest zone over the electoral-roll revision dispute.
Delhi witnessed heightened security on Gandhi Jayanti as police prevented protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar for demonstrations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demands concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Among those detained were RJD MP Manoj Jha, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, former Delhi chief minister Atishi and AISA activist Neha Bora. Other detainees included CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, student activists and civil society campaigners. Police said hundreds of people were detained at different locations around central Delhi.
Authorities had denied permission for the proposed gathering and imposed prohibitory restrictions in the New Delhi district. Heavy police and paramilitary deployment was placed around Jantar Mantar, while multiple barricades were erected to prevent protesters from assembling at the designated demonstration area.
Several Metro stations in the vicinity were also closed for entry and exit, while traffic diversions and additional security measures affected movement through central Delhi. Protesters arriving from different directions were stopped and detained before they could reach Jantar Mantar.
The demonstrations were centred on opposition to the SIR exercise and allegations concerning the deletion of voters from electoral rolls. Organisers demanded action against the Election Commission leadership, while authorities maintained that restrictions were necessary to maintain public order and regulate the anticipated gathering.
The detentions triggered criticism from opposition parties, student organisations and civil society groups, who argued that the restrictions curtailed the right to peaceful protest. Police, meanwhile, maintained that the gathering had not received permission and that prohibitory orders were in force.
The confrontation has placed Delhi's handling of public demonstrations and the wider dispute over electoral-roll revision at the centre of renewed political attention.
