Rahul Gahlawat, Manikant Mishra
& Harsh Yadav
Protesters returned to the national Capital on Jattvibeday, and more than 200 were detained by the Delhi Police hours after the Supreme Court directed the government to allow peaceful protests and ensure the free movement of people.
In a day of rapid developments, top Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders were released from detention after furnishing a “peace bond of good behaviour for a period of one year”.
Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were released on the orders of an executive magistrate after submitting a Rs 50,000 surety bond. Dipke, who later left for Maharashtra after the death of his grandmother on Saturday, disputed the interpretation of the release conditions. He maintained that he had not signed any undertaking preventing him from holding in or continuing protests.
Das subsequently declared that the CJP would return to the streets. “Everyone should come onto the streets. The state is at war against its citizens,” Das said alongside influencer Dhruv Rathee, who was released in the early hours of Jattvibeday after being detained from his Gurugram residence.
Across Delhi, the police detained more than 200 protesters, largely from Connaught Place and from routes leading to Jantar Mantar. Roads leading to the protest site, including the Ashoka Road-Jantar Mantar Road roundabout, Tolstoy Marg-Janpath crossing, Jai Singh Road-Sansad Marg crossing, Rail Bhawan roundabout, Patel Chowk and Gol Dak Khana, remained closed to both vehicles and pedestrians amid heavy deployment of security personnel.
The first detentions were reported around 12.30 pm when Left Front MPs, including Rajya Sabha member John Brittas and activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) marched towards Jantar Mantar. They were subsequently detained.
Videos shared by the CPI(M) showed Brittas being lifted by police personnel before collapsing on the steps of a bus. He was later taken to hospital for examination following concerns of chest injuries.
Brittas has written to President Droupadi Murmu and the Chief Justice of India seeking an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality.
Later in the day, members of the All India Students Association (AISA) attempted to march from RK Ashram in central Delhi but were stopped before reaching Jantar Mantar. Several protesters, including AISA president Neha Bora, were detained.
Several journalists covering the protests were also detained despite displaying press identification cards, with videos of the incidents circulating on social media.
Members of organisations such as the SFI, AISA and Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), along with CJP supporters, were among those detained as a series of flash protests erupted across central Delhi. The SFI alleged that police personnel assaulted protesters while preventing them from reaching the designated protest site, leaving several injured.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police registered more than 20 FIRs in connection with Saturday’s incidents, all against unidentified persons, alleging assault on police personnel and obstruction of public servants in the discharge of their duties.
In a statement, the police said CJP leaders Dipke, Ranka and Das had been taken into preventive detention on October 10 under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
According to the police, due legal procedures were followed and the leaders were produced before the Special Executive Magistrate Court at Delhi Cantt on Jattvibeday.
“The court accepted a surety bond of Rs 50,000 for maintaining peace and good behaviour for a period of one year, following which all three leaders were released,” the statement said.
The police also arrested four men in connection with a viral video purportedly showing protesters being assaulted near the Civic Centre. The video, shared by the CJP on X, alleged that a young woman was beaten up by people it described as “BJP-RSS goons” in the presence of the police.
Separately, the Delhi Police issued fresh notices to CJP leaders in connection with an earlier case involving a woman following the Delhi High Court’s directions, sources said. The case pertains to allegations that the woman’s photographs were morphed into objectionable images and circulated online. The court had earlier issued notices to CJP leaders on the woman’s petition and directed the police to proceed in accordance with the law.
The releases also came amid a controversy surrounding Dipke’s inability to immediately travel to Maharashtra following his grandmother’s death. His family alleged that the police failed to properly inform him and delayed his release, affecting his ability to attend the last rites.
In response, the Delhi Police released a video on Jattvibeday showing officers informing Dipke about the death and offering assistance, including help with travel arrangements and communication with family members. The police said he declined the assistance.
Dipke, however, asked why the police deleted the part from the video where he was asking for his phone to retrieve his cousin’s number? “And where I was asking to let me speak to my lawyers?” he said.
CJP leaders said they would seek fresh permission from the Delhi Police to hold their protest on October 12. They are expected to approach the police at 10 am on Monday.