Hundreds, including AISA president Neha and woman journalist who alleged sexual harassment by cop, detained as Delhi protest for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal enters third day
Hundreds of civil society activists, students and youth organisation members were detained in central Delhi on Sunday as a citizen march demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar entered its third consecutive day. Backed by the All India Students’ Association (AISA), the demonstration also called for scrapping the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over alleged irregularities. Police blocked the march toward Jantar Mantar and detained at least 500 people, witnesses and organisers said.
Background and demands
The AISA-backed march gathered at Andhra Bhavan on Ashoka Road around 4 p.m., bringing together a broad cross-section of civil society. Protesters alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s SIR of electoral rolls and sought the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as well as the cancellation of the revision exercise. Slogans such as “Delhi Police murdabad” and “Gyanesh Kumar chor hai” were raised as participants held banners and placards.
Police block march; mass detentions
Heavy police deployment and multiple barricades stopped the procession at the Shangri-La intersection, roughly 1.5 kilometres from where the march began. As protesters attempted to advance, officers began detaining participants along a stretch of Ashoka Road, leading to scuffles over approximately 500 metres.
Men and women were taken into large private buses marked “on police duty,” as well as PCR vans and other vehicles. Eyewitnesses described protesters being dragged and manhandled; at one point, women police personnel were seen pulling women protesters by their legs as they were taken for detention. In another instance, police personnel were seen pushing a male protester into a bus with his head pressed down.
Authorities deployed hundreds of Delhi Police personnel alongside the Central Armed Police Forces and the Rapid Action Force. Traffic movement in the area was temporarily restricted, and at least 10–15 buses and vans were used to transport detainees away from the site, according to those present.
Allegations of harassment; journalist and student return to protest
The woman journalist who had alleged sexual harassment and manhandling by a police officer while covering Saturday’s protest was among those detained on Sunday. She returned to the demonstration a day after filing a complaint against the officer. Aditi, a student who had also complained to the police on Saturday alleging sexual harassment and manhandling, rejoined the protest as well.
“I am back at the protest today. I do not care if I am detained or if they try to do anything. I feel whatever is happening is not right, and we have to fight. If we will not, then who will?” Aditi said.
Notable presence
Among those who joined the march was 83-year-old screenwriter and director Saeed Akhtar Mirza, who participated from a wheelchair. “These children have faced so much. History is being created and I want to be a part of it,” he said. “This regime is corrupt, communal and criminal. It should go.”
AISA president Neha detained for third straight day, later released
AISA president Neha was detained for the third consecutive day. Around 5 p.m., she was taken from Ashoka Road, near the Shangri-La hotel and Jantar Mantar, in a private SUV by male police personnel who, according to AISA, were not wearing name badges. The students’ group demanded her immediate release, saying her whereabouts were initially not disclosed to associates.
She was later released from the Narela Industrial Area police station. Speaking after her release around 8 p.m., Neha criticised the repeated detentions and framed the protests as an assertion of citizens’ rights.
“They think we are dogs, cockroaches or insects — that they can pick us up, throw us into vehicles, take us 50 kilometres away, beat us and push us around. But today we showed that we are citizens of this country. We have the right to question those in power and ask how the Election Commission and the ruling party are dealing with our votes. If we are repeatedly detained for protesting at a designated protest site, then returning to that place and reclaiming our right to protest is also our right,” she said.
Evening standoffs and escalating tensions
As the evening wore on, clusters of students and activists gathered at multiple points around the Shangri-La intersection. During one confrontation, protesters broke the rear window and pane of a detention bus and several people jumped out. Detentions continued as police moved to disperse groups attempting to regroup along Ashoka Road.
Conclusion
Sunday marked the third consecutive day of demonstrations in central Delhi against the Election Commission’s SIR process and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. With at least 500 detentions, allegations of manhandling, and the involvement of high-profile participants, tensions remained high into the evening. Organisers vowed to continue pressing their demands, even as police maintained a heavy presence to prevent marchers from reaching Jantar Mantar.
