Delhi crackdown: Over 3,000 detained as anti-CEC protests intensify
New Delhi: Delhi erupted in protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, with police detaining more than 3,000 people, including prominent political leaders, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) activists and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
CJP spokesperson Abhijeet Dipke and colleagues Saurav Das and Ashutosh Rank were detained aboard their flight upon arriving from Mumbai. Rathee was taken into custody from his Gurugram residence before dawn. Student leaders, including AISA’s Neha Bora, and several journalists were also detained.
Authorities deployed around 50,000 security personnel before the demonstration began, restricting access to Jantar Mantar.
Following Dipke’s detention, Ajinkya Shinde was appointed to lead the protest. The CJP vowed to continue its agitation until Kumar resigns, urging demonstrators to turn every police blockade into a protest site.
‘Name Fidel Castro, father Karl Marx’: detainee tells police in Delhi
A detained protester amused fellow demonstrators by identifying himself as Fidel Castro and naming Karl Marx as his father when questioned by a policeman inside a police bus during protests at Jantar Mantar demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
Meanwhile, police detained several prominent leaders and activists, including Mamata Banerjee, Yogendra Yadav, Neha Bora, Dipankar Bhattacharya and Prashant Bhushan. Tensions escalated as AAP and CJP supporters blocked a police bus, triggering confrontations with officers.
Imran Khan, Aamir Khan’s nephew among 300 detained in Mumbai
Protests supporting the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar intensified in Mumbai, with police detaining around 300 people, including Bollywood actor Imran Khan and Aamir Khan’s nephew.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Before he was detained by Police, Actor Imran Khan says, "I don't have demands. I am here as a citizen, as someone who lives in this city. I am here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted—why people's voices are being suppressed. That is why I am here. I am not in a position to make demands of anyone. Nor am I part of any organization. I am just here as a representative..."
— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2026
The detentions took place during a demonstration at August Kranti Maidan. Police said permission had not been obtained, citing Bombay High Court directions restricting protests to Azad Maidan. CJP activists, however, claimed they had emailed an application but received no response.
Imran Khan has previously criticised police action against protesting students.
Rahul Gandhi backs youth protests, vows opposition won’t back down
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi has thrown his weight behind the youth-led protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, expressing pride in the young demonstrators and urging them to continue their fight despite the police crackdown.
In a video shared on social media, Gandhi criticised the government for attempting to suppress political leaders and protesters through mass arrests. Without explicitly naming the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), he extended his support to the demonstrators and asserted that the Opposition would not retreat despite the deployment of thousands of security personnel.
Gandhi said the Congress and its allies were determined to defend the Constitution and protect the voices of Indian citizens. He accused the Narendra Modi government and the RSS of pursuing a political approach he had opposed for a decade, warning that arrests and police action would not weaken the resistance.
I’ve been fighting Narendra Modi and the RSS for over a decade now. I understand them like you would understand your opponent - inside out, like the back of my hand.
The core characteristic of these people is cowardice.
Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Mohan Bhagwat, Gyanesh Kumar and Ajit Doval, the villains of this story, are slowly finding the space closing around them. We are closing that space.
Mr. Modi, do whatever you want. Call out all the police: 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, whatever you want.
Arrest all the leaders. Arrest all the young people. Arrest us all.
We are surrounding you, and we are not going to back down. Mark my words: we already have the information we need.
We are going to defend our Constitution. We are going to protect the voice of the Indian people. And we are going to ensure that what was done to India over the last 10-15 years will never, ever be done again.
Youth of India, I am proud of you. Keep protesting. We are standing with you.
We are going to ensure that this regime and the people who have attacked our Constitution are defeated.
मैं नरेंद्र मोदी, RSS और इनसे जुड़े लोगों के ख़िलाफ़ एक दशक से भी ज़्यादा समय से लड़ रहा हूँ। मैं अपने विरोधियों को उतनी अच्छी तरह समझता हूँ, जितना कोई भी अपने प्रतिद्वंद्वी को समझता है। मैं इन्हें अंदर तक जानता हूँ, इनकी हर चाल से वाक़िफ़ हूँ।
इन लोगों की सबसे बड़ी पहचान है - कायरता।
नरेंद्र मोदी, अमित शाह, मोहन भागवत, ज्ञानेश कुमार, अजीत डोभाल - इस कहानी के खलनायक - अब धीरे-धीरे घिरते जा रहे हैं। इनके चारों तरफ़ से दायरा सिमट रहा है।
जो करना है, कर लीजिए। जितनी पुलिस बुलानी है, बुला लीजिए - 10 हज़ार, 20 हज़ार, 50 हज़ार, जितनी चाहें बुला लीजिए।
सारे नेताओं को गिरफ़्तार कर लीजिए। सारे युवाओं को गिरफ़्तार कर लीजिए। हम सबको गिरफ़्तार कर लीजिए।
घबराइये मत - हम आपको चारों तरफ़ से घेर रहे हैं, और हम पीछे हटने वाले नहीं हैं।
मेरी बात याद रखिए - हमें जो जानकारी चाहिए, वह हमारे पास पहले से है।
हम अपने संविधान की रक्षा करेंगे। हम हिंदुस्तान की जनता की आवाज़ की हिफ़ाज़त करेंगे। और हम यह सुनिश्चित करेंगे कि पिछले 10-15 सालों में हिंदुस्तान के साथ जो हुआ है, वह दोबारा कभी, किसी भी सूरत में न हो।
हिंदुस्तान के युवाओं, मुझे आप पर गर्व है। अपना विरोध जारी रखिए। हम आपके साथ खड़े हैं।
हम यह सुनिश्चित करेंगे कि इस सरकार और हमारे संविधान पर हमला करने वालों को शिकस्त मिले।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 10, 2026
The Congress leader also expressed confidence that the Opposition possessed crucial information and would continue challenging the government. He pledged that those responsible for undermining the Constitution would ultimately face defeat.
His intervention comes as Delhi Police intensify efforts to prevent the CJP-led demonstration at Jantar Mantar, with more than 35,000 police and paramilitary personnel deployed to contain the protests.
Separately, Gandhi met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay at the latter’s residence in Neelankarai during a lunch hosted for senior Congress leaders. The meeting aimed to strengthen ties between alliance partners following the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam-led alliance’s victories in the October 6 by-elections in the Maduranthakam and Dharapuram constituencies.
The meeting coincided with escalating protests in Delhi, adding political significance to Gandhi’s show of solidarity with the demonstrators.