From protesters raising slogans and dodging police by hiding in gurudwara detention to sporting cockroach-antennae helmets, the proposed Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) stir against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar saw dramatic scenes in the national capital on Saturday, with police detaining around 500 people amid heavy security deployment.
Despite a heavy security deployment turning the New Delhi area into a fortress, protesters continued to gather at different locations and raise slogans against the police before being chased and detained.
The protest was scheduled to begin at 10.30 am, but security personnel prevented participants from reaching Jantar Mantar, where prohibitory orders are in force. Several protesters were detained from various locations, including near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place, while many others were sent back.
The police had earlier denied permission for the demonstration. As security personnel chased protesters attempting to regroup at different locations, some managed to reach the area near Shivaji Stadium Metro Station and raised slogans against the police.
A group of around 10 to 20 protesters slowly marched along the road, shouting slogans, including “Your children will be suffering too”.
When one protester moved to the middle of the road and raised slogans, police personnel ran across to apprehend him. Buses carrying detainees were seen leaving the area, with some protesters raising slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” and others flashing their press cards from inside the vehicles.
Amid the security restrictions, a Delhi resident working in the private information technology sector found his own way to express solidarity with the protest. Anand, walking alone on a footpath near Shivaji Metro Station, had modified his helmet to resemble the antennae of a cockroach.
“This is my own way of paying a tribute to the CJP and opposition alliance leader because what the current dispensation is doing is not in line with what the government should ideally be doing,” he told PTI.
He said the heavy security presence was curtailing freedom of expression and people’s fundamental rights.
Some others stayed on the sidelines to avoid being detained but said they supported the protesters and their cause.
Md Asif, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, said he had come to the area two days earlier, anticipating the police action, and compared the security arrangement with those at the international border.
“This is not even looking like its national capital. It looks like they have made an India-Pakistan border here,” he said.
Several protesters, including women, were chased and detained as they attempted to regroup at different locations. A few agitators also entered a gurdwara in the area amid the police action.
Senior police officers remained present on the ground and were monitoring the situation. Police personnel were deployed at key intersections and approach roads to prevent gatherings near Jantar Mantar, while security forces also carried out a flag march and appealed to people to comply with the prohibitory orders.
